Unwritten
by xAltaria
Summary: Abandoned and alone, Serah finds herself somewhere new, somewhere that still holds no promise for a future. But when someone she doesn't know extends a hand to her, will she find the courage to take that hand... and find out her sister's reason for leaving? AU. *COMPLETE*
1. Broken Wings

**So hey there, readers and (hopefully!) fans, and welcome to _Unwritten._**

**Most of you here probably know me because of _Nascent Requiem_, my post-XIII fic, and if you don't, then hey! *waves* So this is the new fic idea I've been working on for awhile; I cooked it up after I finished my Hoperai oneshot _Concrete Angel_, and I found that I really, really, liked the ideas and themes present. So I decided to take it one step further, and expand it into this SerahxSnow centric fic. It definitely won't be as long as NR was, but it won't be, well, short. n_n  
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**A few words before we begin: this fic is rated M for a reason, as it does explore many, many aspects of today's society that are kept in the dark, namely: abuse, language, gangsterism, violence... all of those things we're told not to do, or participate in, in high school. Yes, I am well aware of that, but, it's also a very real part of society that doesn't see much light; many adults view it with a very black-and-white approach, and well, there's much more to it than just the traditional view. One course in Social Justice taught me that. So, read at your own discretion, because there are very dark themes explored ahead; if nothing else to call upon these issues present, but held silent, in our world.  
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**Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own the wonderfulness that is _Final Fantasy XIII_, and it is cheerfully returned to Square Enix at least partly intact. And, as an added disclaimer, in no way do I condone any of the things I explore ahead in this fic - I am merely trying to bring it to attention that our world is not as black and white as it seems.  
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* * *

Chapter 1: Broken Wings

_"I always thought my sister_ _loved me. She said as much. So why did she leave me here? Why did she abandon me?  
That was the one motive of hers I never understood... the one thing I'll never understand. Claire, why?" ―_Serah Farron

Holding the blankets over her small, pink head, Serah tried to hide under the covers as faint morning sunlight poked through the blinds in her curtains. Soon, it would be morning, and soon, she'd have to drag herself out of bed again. She didn't want to. _I just want to hide._ But she knew what would happen if she did, memories of painful nights and harsh blows too clear in her memories for comfort. Clutching the cotton of the comforter closer to her slender arms, carefully avoiding the slightly swollen bruised patch on her left arm, she tried not to let her thoughts drift back to her sister, as they inevitably would do whenever she thought about her life, and the twists and turns it had taken... all for the worst.

They'd been born with a 'silver spoon', so to say, into one of the richer families that occupied Bodhum. She'd had a happy childhood, growing up with her older sister, until... _that day._ That one day she'd never forget: the day of the car crash. One moment, she had been a happy nine year old, comforted in the embraces of her twelve year old sister and loving parents, and the next... all gone. Her sister had lived, but the old, happy Claire was gone. As determined as her sister had been to take care of her, it was inevitable that they were thrust into the household of the only family that would take them in: an unmarried uncle. At first, Serah had thought it was only _right, _only common courtesy, for their uncle to take care of them. That was before they found out he blamed them for their mother's death, his only sister.

Painful memories trawled through her dreams even now, of the first night he'd grabbed her sister and thrown her against the wall. She could still remember the blood, the way Claire had tried to fight back. But what was the strength of a twelve year old against a grown man? Suppressing a whimper, Serah held the edge of the coverlet to her mouth as the now familiar words raced through her mind. _'If you ever tell anyone, if any of you ever dare run away, you'll get what's coming to you.'_

And that... was exactly what sixteen year old Claire had done, five years ago. Serah didn't want to remember the desperation, the hurt, when she realized her sister was never coming home. That night in the rain and thunder, both their slender forms drenched in rainwater, plastering their clothes to their skin, her sister had gripped her arm with her steel grip, closing slim fingers around her upper arm, just underneath a bruise. Try as she might, Serah still remembered the desperate hiss of the last words her sister had said to her, before turning and running into the gloom and shadows, the rainfall quickly swallowing the last of her thin frame and the petal pink hair.

"_Serah. I-I love you. But this... this is something I have to do. Okay?" _

She'd never come back. No matter how long Serah had waited, her sister had never returned, never came to find her, never sent her anything to even show that she was alive. At first, she'd been devastated. The pain of the night that had followed after their uncle had found out Claire had run away was immaterial to the inner pain that she'd felt. Unable to concentrate at school, unable to control the emotions that rose up like a storm that ripped apart all it came into contact with, Serah had let herself start failing in school. All she could think about was... _Why?_

Why had Claire left her here? _What was it... she 'had to do' that I couldn't go along with? Why couldn't she take me with her?_ Even now, even after five years, those questions had haunted her, were present in every dream. She didn't know where Claire was, didn't even know if her sister was _alive_ anymore. But still, the questions came, almost like chains she could never shake off. Was the reason she'd run away because she could no longer stand what their life was? _So... was it easier for her to just leave?_

But Claire had known what their uncle had said. She'd known exactly the consequences if one of them ever attempted to do it. She'd have known what would happen. Unable to think about that, Serah had come to the desolate conclusion that her sister _didn't_ love her as much as she'd claimed. _Why else... would she leave me here?_ It was so, so painful to think of it that way, to see her sister as selfish and cold, as someone who didn't care. But what other explanation could there be? Serah couldn't think of one.

The low rumble of an engine starting jolted her out of her thoughts as she looked up to see the pale golden sunlight peeking through the spaces in the blinds. Giving an internal sigh, Serah slowly pawed the rest of the covers off her slender body, reaching for the hairtie she'd left on the bedside table, pulling it around her wrist with a small snap. Looking up, she saw the unfamiliar school uniform draped over the back of the worn wooden chair, the sight unconsciously bringing on another rush of memories.

That had been the other thing that had to change... too often. Their uncle had made them change school every time one of the teachers had gotten suspicious, or things started to look a little dire for them. He'd shifted them to different schools before anyone could send the police after them. Not that he would have needed to worry - their uncle had enough money to buy off the corrupted police because he worked for the government. Serah remembered, clearly, the wad of bills he'd pressed into the hands of the doctor when... _When it was so bad we had to take Claire to the hospital. _And so, as he bought his way out of the charges that would have been laid on him, the chances of someone's discovery of their plight grew smaller and smaller. She had no idea what he told the school when Claire had finally snapped, finally run away, but it had to have been something good...convincing, at least. No 'missing' posters had ever shown up in where they were living at the time -Palumpolum- and their uncle had made no effort to find her.

Slowly pulling on the unfamiliar white shirt that Serah carefully rolled the sleeves up to just past her elbows, to avoid showing the bruises on her upper arms, she pulled her pink hair into a messy side ponytail, letting the straggling ends brush her collarbone as they dangled past her shoulder. Pulling on the grey blazer after it, Serah stopped to stare at her reflection in the mirror.

A pale, slender pinkette gazed back at her with sapphire eyes. In one sense of the word, she might have been called 'cute' or 'pretty'. In so many others, betrayed by the persistent faint shadows under her eyes and the bruises she struggled to hide, the words 'broken' and 'pitiful' might have been more applicable. Splashing cold water over her face, Serah tried hard to erase the traces of her sleepless night from her face. The uniform looked odd on her, and she suppressed another wave of anxiety at the thought.

Her uncle had moved them to Eden, the capital, just last week after, well, after a summer vacation in which Serah had spent hidden indoors. This time, it hadn't been because of her. Her uncle had been promoted into a fancier government job for the Sanctum, and it required that they lived in Eden. Serah hadn't seen much of the city yet, but the one drive past the busy streets told her it would not be like her quiet hometown of Bodhum. No, Eden was the typical capital city, filled with the most extravagant stores and all the high end hotels and businesses.

She'd also seen the uglier side of Eden when their taxi driver, an impatient middle aged man, took a side turn to avoid a traffic jam at Eden's heart. Serah had quite literally shrunk away from her window when she saw the cigarette butts lying in the alleyways, the darker, poorer side of the city. The homeless, clothed in rags, people whom she could only define as 'gangsters' lining the streets, smoking cigarettes and quite possibly putting other toxic chemicals into their bodies, and several men chasing after a dark haired woman. She shuddered at the memory, making a mental note never to go there.

Pulling the wool socks up until they reached the bottom of her knees, Serah wished they were longer. If only they would cover more of her legs under the black skirt of the uniform... It wasn't that she was bashful, well, maybe she was, but Serah was more concerned about the bruises on her thighs than people staring at her.

"I'll be okay," she whispered to herself, pressing her fingers to the glass of the mirror. _I'll have to be._

* * *

Quietly locking the front door behind her, Serah slipped the house key into her bag before turning to face the golden sun of Phoenix that was rising just above the rooftops of the houses across the street, spilling its light onto the grass. Inhaling, closing her eyes, Serah set off in the direction that would take her to the high school. She'd made a point of finding it on a map earlier that weekend, but she could only hope to the Maker that she would actually find it: she'd never been the best at directions. _That was something Claire was good at._

The thought had crossed her mind before she could even control it. Shoving it away, Serah tried not to think about her sister. _I can't... I have to stop thinking about her._ It had been hard - at every new town they reached in Cocoon, she'd wondered if they would find her there. But after five years, Serah had given up the hope of seeing her sister again. She didn't know what she would say or how she would react, at any rate, even if she did find her. Screech out her anger, or hug her? Serah found it frightening that she didn't know the answer to that question.

The quiet neighbourhood streets began to get noisy as she neared the school. Standing for a moment just beyond the chain link fence, Serah watched as teenagers gathered in clumps alongside the outer brick walls, some clearly waiting for friends, others flipping through notebooks and textbooks. There were more than a couple of curious glances in her direction, but Serah kept her head down, not wanting to attract more attention than she needed to get. School, after Claire had left, had never been a place other than to keep her head down and hope no one noticed her. It wasn't that she didn't _want_ the companionship of others... it was that she was afraid. _What if... what if they all turn out to be like how Claire... _She had to stop thinking about that. Her heart told her it wasn't fair to judge her sister like that even though her mind wanted to. _And I can't judge... I can't judge other people like that either. But I just don't want... I just don't want to be abandoned ever again. _

Her footsteps in the hallways were a little too loud for her liking as Serah made her way to the main office, her heart pounding nervously in her throat. A much bigger student bumped into her - she stumbled, quickly regaining her balance as she locked gazes with the eyes of the much taller boy. He gave a leer in her direction, his eyes travelling down her small frame, before she quickly dodged into the office, unable to keep the small flare of embarrassment off of her cheeks. She could still hear his laughter even after she closed the door behind her.

"How many I help you?" The secretary was looking at her with a scrutinizing look on her face. Digging in her bag, Serah pulled out the completed registration forms, smoothing them out to give to the secretary.

"I-I'm new here," she stammered, clenching her small hands into loose fists at her sides as the secretary bent over to examine her papers. There were several heartbeats that quickly dragged into long minutes, of silence, filled only by the rapid clicking of keys being typed.

"Ms... Farron, is it? Well, welcome to North Eden." The lady turned, going over to the printer to collect several pieces of paper she'd printed off, finally handing one to her. Serah took it with trembling fingers. "There's your schedule, hon, and I hope you make lots of new friends!"

Closing the door to the office behind her, Serah managed a small smile when she thought of the secretary's words. _Making new friends? _That was something that might have been realistic... in elementary school. Still, she couldn't help but hope that the lady's words would be true in some way.

_I just want... someone to understand, and not be afraid. I want someone I can lean on, fall down on when I'm hurt, trust with everything I know to be the truth. I just want to know that it's possible to be loved._

* * *

She managed to make it through the rest of the day without too much trouble, keeping her head down, accepting the books and work without comment, quietly murmuring her thanks as needed. Keeping her sapphire gaze to the floor, Serah felt the hot autumn afternoon sun hit her in the face when she stepped out the front doors of the school, as she clutched two textbooks to her chest, bag slung across both shoulders in her attempt to get home quickly.

It didn't go as smoothly as she planned. Finding herself cornered just as she stepped off the last few steps of the small staircase that led up to the front entrance, Serah found herself backing into a wall as an older student looked down at her.

"Hey, you're cute. You must be new here," he sneered in her direction. "Wanna go out with me?"

_What?_ "No!" she cried, her voice a little too shaky to sound firm about her decision. Serah tried to break away past the boy, but he blocked her way out.

"Hey, hey, don't be like that." He shoved his face to hers. "I promise I'll treat you nicely."

Serah didn't have a chance to reply before someone else's fist collided with the older student's face, knocking him sideways away from her. Back pressed against the wall, she held her books tighter to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut as angry shouts and snarls sounded around her. It was a long time before the threats stopped and silence pressed around her again.

"Hey, you alright?" This voice was just as gruff, but it held none of the lecherous tones that were in the previous one. Slowly, Serah allowed herself to look up into intense ocean blue eyes and a mess of blond hair. The student in front of her was wearing the typical school uniform, but the top buttons of his shirt were carelessly left open, and he'd added a bandanna that wrapped around his head. Extending a large hand to her, she saw that he'd also taken the liberty to add black gloves to his outfit as she hesitantly took it, allowing him to pull her from the wall.

Shamefully, she noticed that his grip was warm and firm... comforting, in a way. "He won't bother you again," he assured her. "You hurt?"

Unable to speak for the moment, Serah shook her head.

"Good. Glad to see the idiot didn't do anything stupid."

He'd been about to turn and go when she finally managed to choke something out. "Thank you," she stammered, looking shyly at him. The bigger boy laughed, clapping his hand to the back of his neck.

"Don't sweat it. Didn't think you wanted that." There was an awkward pause in which Serah examined her shoes. "So, you're new here?" Looking up at him again, she nodded.

"Nice to meet ya. Snow Villiers," he announced proudly, thumping himself on the chest. She couldn't help but smile at his exuberant enthusiasm, the expression so confident, so trusting, in life. The grin on his face split wider when he noticed her shy, watery smile.

"I'm Serah," she murmured quietly, almost like she was afraid of exposing herself to him. "Serah Farron."

"Cool. Well, Serah, see ya around?" He gave her a confident thumbs up before walking away, tossing one last comment over his shoulder. "If anyone else gives you trouble, just give me a holler."

Watching him walk away, his tall, hulking stature easily standing out amongst the crowd, it was awhile before she got going, feet hurrying in the direction of home. It was only when she arrived at her doorstep when she realized what Snow had put inside her: a quiet sort of confidence, an underlying sense of trust. It was impossible to judge so early, she chided herself, but she couldn't help but feel appreciated that he had taken the time to deal with the student who had cornered her. She couldn't help but feel that someone cared. _He didn't even know me._

Digging in her bag for her key, Serah looked up at the endless blue sky, dotted with white clouds, feeling something pluck at her heartstrings when she thought of him and that gesture, extended to a nameless girl, partly shielded by the stairs that led from the school, her plaintive cry silent and unheard in the realm of the sea of lives that went on around them.

_Thank you.  
_

* * *

**I wasn't originally going to post this fic today, but I decided that in honour of _Requiem of the Goddess_, I wanted to do something. If you haven't yet played Lightning's DLC episode... ohmygosh... I cried. I was at a friend's house this morning, but I brought XIII-2 along with me... and I just sat there on her couch, and cried after we finished it. I mean, I didn't expect any less... but watching Lightning after Serah's death made me go through what happened in NR all over again. All. Over. Again. *sighs*  
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**So, in honour of the final XIII-2 DLC, I decided to post _Unwritten_ today. I'm still feeling rocky about how it ended, but... I can't wallow in that forever. I can only look forward to _Final Fantasy XIII-3_, if and when it is ever going to be released.  
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**Anyways, on a slightly happier note, I really hope I set the tone and mood of this new fic of mine right, and I hope that you guys enjoy my writing (as always!) Leave love in reviews if you're so inclined (I love constructive criticism/suggestions), and I'll see you guys next chapter! I know I updated NR frequently (it wasn't unusual for you guys to receive daily updates) but with _Unwritten_ I want to take more time with my chapters, especially in the beginning where I want to set the tone how I want it. Chapter 2 should be completed and up by Saturday/Sunday, and well, we'll go from there.  
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**Hearts!  
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	2. Reflection

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_ I managed to finish earlier than expected due to some, er, otherwise unforeseen circumstances, so here you go! Big thanks to Mylaervain and FalconTytus - you guys rock! And an extended appreciation to all of you - wow, Chapter One already has more or less 200 visitors and several favs/alerts... the support is heartwarming. (:  
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**Anyways, thank you for all the input, whether it was via review or PM... I'm glad you guys think I set the tone for this story right. On that note, I really, really hope the tone for Chapter Two is alright as well... Enjoy as always!**

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Chapter 2: Reflection

_"Snow... was Snow. There was something about him that made me feel appreciated, cherished,_ loved._  
He made me feel like I was worth something." __―_Serah Farron

Finding herself shyly waiting at the gates of the school, Serah waited for the familiar form of Snow to emerge from the front entrance. She'd run into him again on her way to school, finding that they lived near each other. She'd allowed herself to smile, even when it was more or less for his benefit, when he waved at her; unexpectedly, he crossed the street to join her, his infectious grin instantly widening her own tight smile when he recounted something that he'd done the previous night. Serah hadn't realized she was smiling until he commentated that she looked prettier when she was smiling. That comment had brought a blush to her cheeks.

_He knows... somehow, how to make me smile._ Listening to his banter, Serah had found that she could let her inner self out - the Serah that had only been shown to her sister, the playful and fun loving Serah she hadn't shown to anyone else. He coaxed that out of her effortlessly; he didn't even know her, and he reached through the outer, silent levels of pain until he'd found the beauty underneath the thorns of a rose. That first walk to school had terrified her, she could admit that, but she could also admit that his easygoing, exuberant nature warmed her in ways she'd never dreamed possible. _And he doesn't even know... who I am._

Inviting her over to his table at lunch, Serah had smiled shyly when he'd introduced her to his group of friends: Yuj, Maqui, Gadot, and Lebreau. They'd all welcomed her warmly, accepting Snow's story that he'd saved her in front of the school yesterday.

"The 'hero' thing is a pretty big deal for Snow," Lebreau giggled into her ear. "Expect that to be in his head for awhile." The dark haired girl had crowed with laughter, seeing the mortified look on Snow's face. Serah had managed a weak smile, but not before an impossibly selfish thought crossed her mind. _Am I... Is this the right thing? Letting myself be known by them? What if...? _She didn't want to know what could happen if she revealed her past to them, didn't want to know what would happen when they saw past the pretty, petite figure to the broken doll that was housed inside.

"Hey, don't space out." Snow's rough growl was suddenly beside her. "You ready to go?" Looking up, Serah bobbed her head once, wincing when one of the edges of the textbook brushed her arm where there was a bruise. He hadn't gone for her last night, but then again, she could never predict his temperaments.

She struggled to keep up with the fast pace he set in the autumn breeze that blew crisp leaves around her, tangling orange and blazes of red with her cherry coloured hair; seeing her flounder, he slowed down with an easy grin, smile lighting up his face again. "Sorry," he laughed sheepishly. "I keep forgetting you're not as tall as I am."

"That's an understatement," she murmured quietly, and it was true - Serah barely reached his shoulders. He laughed again, scratching his chin.

"Right." He fixed her with a serious gaze that didn't really suit his boisterous character, ocean blue eyes suddenly honest and intent. "So, Serah, why'd you move here? I mean, you're from... Bodhum, right? Eden's a pretty rowdy place for someone who must be used to peace and quiet."

_He remembered. _It had been one of the first questions he'd asked her: where she was from, and despite her reservations and instincts telling her to know better, she'd told him the truth. At first, she'd been surprised at her urge to tell him the truth, but looking back on it, Serah didn't really regret it. There was something about him that reassured her he wouldn't do much with the information. The fact that he'd recalled it in his numerous questions was touching in more than one way.

"I can see that," she responded quietly. "My uncle... I live with him. He works for the Sanctum, and they transferred him here. So, we picked up and moved." Snow had a hand on his chin, looking thoughtful.

"Why'd you live with your uncle? Your folks not around?"

The question slammed into her like a physical blow, and suddenly, Serah staggered, the textbooks tumbling out of her arms - it was too hard to breathe. "Shit, Serah, I didn't mean it like that-" Snow's hand had reached out for her arm, no doubt in a gesture meant to comfort, but unfortunately, his arm gripped one of the bruises left behind, and involuntarily, she jerked her arm out of his hand, holding it, struggling to breathe, still.

Snow had gotten to his knees in front of her, collecting her things. He'd shut his mouth - clearly afraid of saying or doing more that would evoke a similar reaction from her. It was awhile before she'd collected her emotions and thoughts into something coherently controlled, shakily taking her books from him.

He'd meant her no harm. Both the question and the gesture had been genuine. But both had adversely affected her, as her ugly, scarred past reared up uncontrollably, she'd pushed him away. _I... This is why I can't..._ "Sorry," she whispered quietly. "I overreacted. Snow, please... it's didn't have anything to do with you." Her last words shifted somewhere into the realm of a plea, seeing the pained look on his face. "It's not your fault... it's mine."

He looked dubiously down at her, anguish clouding his usually exuberant features. "You sure... you're okay? You look really shaken." She gave him a watery smile, hoping that the worn expression would alleviate some of the negative features etched into his face. He didn't take the cue, still looking worriedly down at her.

"I'll be okay... Don't worry, alright?" Serah knew his concern was genuine, but she couldn't... _I can't tell him. I can't trust him... I can't trust anyone with this. _"Please."

Snow gave her one more scrutinizing glance, his voice usually quiet as they began walking again. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Slowly, Serah took a breath, taking the cool autumn breeze deep into her lungs, willing the icy stab of air to control her still rapidly hammering heart. As she breathed out, some degree of calm did enter, touched with the warmth that he was concerned about her wellbeing. "No... you didn't. It's okay..."

Stopping at her doorstep, she turned to give him a half wave, watching as the already familiar grin slowly return to his face before he turned to walk in the direction of the apartments he lived in. She didn't turn around until his large frame was gone from her sight, before going to find her keys, slowly inserting the small metal blade into the keyhole, hesitantly pushing open the wooden door.

It was dark inside as she locked the door behind her, her eyes scanning the dim room, her socked feet sliding soundlessly across the wooden paneling of the floor. A plaque caught her eye: _"Kei Takahashi - Sanctum Level 5 Clearance". _The burnished bronze gleamed even in the poor lighting, and Serah pushed away the urge to shrink away from the mere mention of her uncle's name, finding that her hands were curled into loose fists again as she tried to stop them from trembling.

Suddenly unable to continue looking at the plaques that lined the dark living room, Serah found herself running up the stairs to the upper level, inside her room, slamming the door behind her. Exhaustion dragged at her limbs as she curled into a fetal ball on the bed, the events of the last twenty minutes playing through her mind on fast forward. The initial question that had dragged such an irrational reaction out of her, the one gesture that had sent every single nerve ending into overdrive as she tried to deal with her past and present. And his genuine, candid apology, the one that touched some place inside that wasn't covered with scars and wounds.

Serah found her fingers balling the covers as silent tears began to slide down her cheeks - she gave up wiping them away after the first few attempts when it was clear they weren't going to to stop. _I just wanted... I didn't mean to react that way... I didn't mean to show him... _She didn't know when she crossed the boundary into sleep, pushed along by the recurring last lines that her sister had said to her and the look on Snow's face when he apologized to her. The look in their eyes had been the same, as fear of that drove her into the realms of dreams.

She didn't know how long it had been since she'd fallen asleep, but she was dragged back into consciousness in the dying light of Phoenix as cold, steel grey eyes looked down on her. The breath was driven from her lungs as she was flung against the wall, hands scrabbling for purchase, but finding none, on the smooth plaster. The smell of alcohol was pervading her senses, and Serah wanted to cover her mouth and nose; just as she raised her thin wrist, it was grabbed by a rough, much larger hand. Half lifted into the air, she found her side meeting the floorboards as she landed on her hip, the pain sending shockwaves up her entire body as she struggled not to cry out, the golden sunlight spilling in bars on her slender form.

She waited for the next blow to come, but it didn't. Instead, she heard the door to her room slam, echoing off furniture in the distance, and loud, unsteady, footsteps fade away. Still, she didn't move, sapphire eyes half open as she watched the warmth of Phoenix fade from her window, the moon's icy cold light slowly stealing silently across the floorboards, as unwanted memories resurfaced as she remembered the last time she had lain prone for so long.

* * *

_The short, pained cry made her want to get up, to do _anything_ to protect her sister. She couldn't see Claire from where she was lying, pain twisting her ankle and back, but she could hear her... and the sound of the blow that came not five seconds later. Her sister didn't give in though, and her next words made Serah freeze with fear._

_"You... fuck you." The words, spoke with all the harshness a fifteen year old could muster, was responded to with the sound of a slap. Serah heard her sister crash to the ground, but this time, there was no anguished scream. Instead, she heard the hissed retort forced through lips and teeth gritted in pain. "Don't touch me."_

_Serah would have done anything to prevent their uncle from hearing those words as she heard him, strangely, stride away from Claire. It was a heartbeat or two before she realized that he was approaching her. "Fine," she heard him growl. "Would you rather I touched your sister instead?" She heard the raising of something hard, something solid, just above her head and she closed her eyes, expecting her next breath to be her last. Instead, she felt something heavy, very heavy, drop onto her middle, squashing the breath out of her. Afraid to breathe too loudly, she heard the smashing of something breakable hit the ground as the sound of footsteps moved away from her.  
_

_It was a long time before she thought it was okay to open her eyes, finding her face parallel in plane with the shattered remnants of a china plate, scattered patternlessly across the carpet of the floor. It was only then she realized whose body was lying on top of hers, pink hair streaked with blood.  
_

_She didn't know how long they lay there, limbs tangled together in a mutual nightmare neither of them could escape from. Unable to move, unable to shift her sister's body off of her, the only thing she could do was let the silent tears stain the fabric of the the white carpet, watching it dilute the scarlet colour that it had been stained as she slowly raised a hand to find her sister's.  
_

_"Claire..."_

* * *

The luminous numbers on the clock read 1:37 AM before Serah found the inner strength to pull herself to her feet, pushing the last vestiges of tears from her cheeks, weighed down by memories and emotions. She couldn't shake off that weight - it was like carrying the whole world on her back. A small, cursory piece of advice wove through her mind. '_Just keep going. Whatever happens... just keep going.' _It had hooked at something when her mind had caught up with her thoughts: that had been her sister's voice.

Stumbling into the bathroom, Serah slowly moved the small nob for the light, unsure if she wanted to look at the mirror, afraid of who, or what, she would find reflected back at her. The bright fluorescent light came on anyways, responsive to the slightest change in position, as the small room was flooded with white light.

Slowly trailing a hand down her swollen cheek, she cradled it for a moment before pulling her woolen vest and cotton shirt completely off her thin frame, seeing the new bruises that had bloomed across her left hip and shoulder blades on her back. Dropping the pile of cloth to the floor, her fingers met those of her reflection's as she touched the mirror, the cool smoothness under the slender tips soothing the throbbing that pounded mercilessly under her pale skin.

Serah didn't know she was crying again until she saw the silver streak of tears on the 'her' on the other side of the glass. Watching the bruised, slim creature try to contain her pain silently, uselessly, she was irresistibly reminded of the stone angels that adorned her parents' graves. The ones with upturned faces, staring forever into the endless blue of the sky, unaffected by the calamities that rocked the world. Their stone wings would never stop beating, never lose direction even in a gale that tore the sky asunder.

Looking at the reflection in the mirror, she couldn't be further from that as Serah slowly sank to the floor, arms hugging herself as she looked down, pink bangs cascading over her eyes. Those concrete angels had had a look of serenity on their faces; they were confident that they were loved.

_And who... Who would love someone like me?_

Serah thought she could look forever and not find an answer, not one that lay in her past, and not one that would present itself in the future she didn't think she could face.

* * *

***takes a breath*  
**

**This chapter was somehow really, really hard to get right. I played with the diction so much until Serah didn't sound like Serah anymore, and then I had to change stuff back because well, Serah's supposed to sound like Serah. *rips hair out* That was frustrating. *mumbles angrily*  
**

**Anyways, leave love/critiques/comments in reviews as always (I love reviews 8D) and I'll see you guys next time. I'm fairly sure Chapter Three will be out by the weekend, whether it's Saturday (most likely) or Sunday (if I don't finish on time), so I'll catch you then, and once again, thank you for all your support!  
**

**Hearts!  
**


	3. Again

**So hey all, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_  
**

**Once again thank you to FalconTytus, you're amazing. n_n I did get this chapter up earlier than expected - a friend was supposed to come shopping with me today but she bailed on me. What was sad was that my significant other borrowed my Final Fantasy collection for the weekend so... I couldn't even play; I went, eh, why not work on Unwritten while he has all my games?  
**

**And the funny thing was, once I started working on it, it came out easier and much more naturally than I thought it would, (Chapter 2 was killer to write, let me tell you that...) and so here it is! Personally, I like how this one turned out, and also because, well, someone I've personally been waiting for for a long time _finally_ makes an appearance, so... I was happy. o3o  
**

**Enjoy as always!**

* * *

Chapter 3: Again

_"Serah was hiding something. What, I didn_'_t know, but it was there.  
Ever since the first time she reacted like that, I knew. And Maker knew I was going to find out why." __―_Snow Villiers

Snowflakes drifted down from the grey skies as Serah pressed her fingertips to the cold glass of her window, watching the snow fall, fast and furious, frosting the outer layer of glass into intricate patterns that reflected the little light that managed to penetrate through the clouded heavens above. The touch was soothing on her fingers; pressing her forehead against the glass, the sheer coldness of the smooth surface could almost make her forget. The icy, piercing touch of the glass could almost convince her she was someone else. What surprised her though, was that the thought of wanting to be someone else wasn't as great as she expected it to be.

Unconsciously and unceremoniously, she'd let Snow into her life. It wasn't like... _He didn't barge his way in, like he does to every class at school_... No, Serah was sure of that. He had never 'invaded' her life... he'd crept up on her. It was impossible not to like his exuberant, confident outlook on life, so different from her own. It was impossible not to warm to his sunny, laughable personality. _No, he's definitely one of those people who look rough on the outside... and are gentle on the inside._ It sounded like such a fairytale thing to say, to find that the "Beast" actually had a kind heart, but there was no other way to say it.

He was so different from her.

He was confident, hopeful, _believed_ in everything and everyone. So unlike her. It had been a long time until she trusted him with more than just the most trivial things, it had been a long time until he coaxed a smile that wasn't for show from her. With him, she felt like... _someone I know... and don't know, at the same time._ She felt like the part of her that had always existed somewhere, buried deep after her parents were gone and her sister had left. It had always been there, like a seed pushed into the depths of her heart, waiting for the right mix of sunshine and rain for it to grow. It was something that had always been part of her, but had never allowed itself to show. _And that's... that's what I'm scared of._ She wasn't sure if he wanted to know the _other _half of her, the part of her that was buried so deeply in her past she didn't think she could ever escape.

Moving away from the frosted window, Serah slid her arms into a thicker coat, its fur ruff enveloping her throat and neck; fingers trembling slightly as she did up the buttons. Taking a breath, she locked the front door behind her before running out into the snowfall, the crystalline flakes instantly clinging to her tangled pink hair dangling down her left shoulder as she brushed snow encrusted bangs out of her eyes.

She could already see his silhouette in the deepening twilight as she crunched through the gathering whiteness on the ground, sending stray flakes flying into the night air behind her.

"Hey," he greeted her, giving her his customary thumbs up. "How's pink princess doin' tonight?"

The smile she returned to him was no less than genuine, but even as the soft expression tugged at the corners of her lips, Serah felt like her heart was breaking. _I can never show you... who I really am. I know you trust me... but I could never trust others like that... ever again.  
_

Snow smiled to see her smile. "Well, you ready? Lebreau promised us free drinks if we get there before anyone else." He cracked a devilish grin as he started walking fast, through the falling snow. "I'm looking forward to my free coffee."

For awhile, there was only silence between them as Serah watched their feet leave two even sets of footprints in the feathery snow as the sky above steadily grew darker.

"Snow?" The blond looked at her - he was in the midst of trying to catch a snowflake with his tongue, and Serah couldn't suppress a small giggle at it: Snow looked incredibly silly trying to accomplish the task, and he clamped his mouth shut when she timidly voiced his name. Suddenly, Serah was unsure of why she'd spoken his name, perhaps for confirmation that he was still there, perhaps for the novelty of simply saying it.

"Yeah?"

"I-I'm not a bother to you, am I?"

He spun around, gazing at her with a very uncharacteristic stern and searching look in his eyes. "No," he said slowly, as if mulling over the simple one syllable word. "Why do you ask?"

Serah shrunk away from his soul piercing ocean blue gaze. "Nothing," she stammered quickly, suddenly very interested in the slush on her boots as they continued to make their way through the snow. "It's just... I've never really... Thank you."

Clearly confused, Snow stopped walking, his large form imposing in the peaceful snowfall that showed no sign of stopping. "Hey..." he murmured quietly. "What's the sudden doubt about?"

Serah fixed her gaze on the flurries that fell from the sky. _How much... I wish I could tell you. _She stopped herself before she went further down that train of thought._ No... I can't think like that. Call me selfish... I'm probably the most selfish person I know... But I never want to feel betrayed, unloved... ever again. If not telling him is the way to keep this, then so be it. _

"Oh, it's... just, thank you, Snow. For everything."

* * *

The streetlights had gone on by the time they entered the main city of Eden, casting an unnatural orange glow over the snow that had fallen. Serah felt Snow hustle her onto a main street, away from the shadows that heralded the alleys and backstreets. Still, he caught her looking over his tall shoulder at one of them, trying to discern the shapes that the shadows inside were.

"Don't go there," he stated plainly. "It's dangerous."

She couldn't resist the question, rubbing the tip of her cold nose. "Why not?" She caught his incredulous look. "I mean, I know... I know there's probably gangsters and all that there... but... is it really that bad?"

Snow gave a sigh. "I keep forgetting you're new to Eden, cause every kid that grew up here knows that the back streets and alleyways, are... well, you just don't wanna go there. Seriously, don't. I don't think _I_ would have the guts to go in, let alone you. It's a different world there, Serah. Not one you want to see." His voice had lowered to something like a growl at the last words, before looking at her curiously. "Why do you ask, hoping to find someone there or somethin'?"

His question hit a little too hard to home to be comfortable, and Serah swallowed against the sudden, burning lump that had formed in her throat. "No," she replied faintly. "It's just... I hear so much about it at school, and I guess... I never really bothered to ask until actually _being_ here reminded me." If Snow noticed something odd about her reply, he didn't voice it.

Even after he had warned her, she still couldn't keep herself from looking at the various side streets as they passed them on Eden's main avenues, seeing the bars that opened into the alleyways, hearing the occasional angry shout that reverberated from some of them. She could make out several darker silhouettes in the harsh orange streetlamp light in several - dark, angry shapes, and she involuntary backed away, accidentally bumping into Snow.

"Sorry!" He laughed at her obvious embarrassment, giving her a friendly pet on the snow encrusted pink head.

"Don't worry about it. Look, we're almost here." He steered her inside a small, warm cafe, as several shouts greeted them the moment they passed through the door.

Watching the happy smiles and carefree laughter of Snow and his friends as she wrapped her slim hands around a mug of coffee, Serah wished, for perhaps the millionth time since they'd moved to Eden that her life could be like that.

_I just want... one day without pain. One day without having being reminded constantly of all of this. Is that... is that so impossible?_

She didn't know the answer. Just like the so many other questions she had, Serah didn't think she would ever know.

* * *

Snow watched as Serah opened the front door and let herself in, flicking on some light in her house, before turning away and walking into the snow that was coming down in clumps now. Burying his gloved hands in his coat, he resisted the urge to wrap his scarf around his mouth, welcoming the chilly air that was pulled into his lungs with each breath.

He hadn't forgotten her odd question earlier: _"Am I a bother to you?" _The question had been so odd, so out of place, that he'd been caught off guard. _Why... would she ask something like that? What's eating her?_ He didn't know, but he also couldn't forget the first time he'd walked her home, the time that the question _'What about your folks?'_ had sent her into something like an emotional breakdown, and when he'd tried to grab her arm to steady her, she'd ripped her slender form out of his hands so fast it was like he'd burnt her.

_What the hell... was that?_

He didn't know, but Snow was as sure as hell going to find out. It wasn't often that someone put up so willingly with his boisterous banter, his ridiculous jaunts about being a hero. She'd heard them all with a genuine smile, whereas everyone else -namely Lebreau- had crowed with laughter at the mere mention. It wasn't often that he'd come across someone so understanding and quiet, like she was afraid of making her presence known. There was a certain sort of sadness that dragged at her delicate, doll-like face, the type of sadness that never really went away even when she smiled. _Like she's carrying the burden of ten million rocks or something._

Whatever that was, he was going to find out too. It wasn't often that someone pulled at his heartstrings so easily, and if he was honest with himself, he wanted to see her smile without that burden pressing her to earth.

* * *

There was a scuffle of boots as a slender, cloaked figure wearing torn jeans dodged a blow, gripping the wrist that flashed back for the second blow, slamming her own hand into the assailant's face as she backed away. Pushing scraggly pink bangs out of her face, Lightning let go of the wrist, flinging the man away from her, breathing hard.

The smell of alcohol faded slowly from her senses as the man backed away from her, holding his bleeding nose. She could tell he was thinking about retaliating by the hesitant way his eyes followed her. "Bitch," he snarled at her. "Who do you think you are?"

"Look who's talking," she snarled back. "Get the hell away from me." He didn't grace her with a response; letting go of his nose, he lunged for her again, movements uncoordinated and jerky as a result of the copious amounts of alcohol he'd no doubt consumed, but powerful just the same.

This time, she didn't dodge in time as his hand slammed into her collarbone, knocking her to the ground, driving a kick to her ribs. Gasping out loud, Lightning felt him root through her cloak for his original prize - the money she'd kept in there. Ripping the bills away from her, he left her there as he staggered away, a drunken smile lighting his features. "Remember," he slurred in her direction. "Street smarts won't win you everything."

The snow was seeping into her clothing, but she didn't care. It was a long time before she pulled herself into a standing position, hand wrapped around her middle with her back pressed to the alley wall, watching snow drift from above the tall rooftops down into the shadows of the alley. Half hunched, Lightning tried to use the arm she'd wrapped around her ribs to control her heaving breaths as pain throbbed in her ribs. _Damn it... damn it! _

Why had she been so careless? Why hadn't she hidden that better before someone had the guts to follow her from where she'd sold her usual bounty? _It wasn't even like... all that was mine. _She knew perfectly well that Akito expected her to give him the profits for her selling the things he'd ordered her to, and if she wasn't back with the money by midnight...

_Damn it, why? Fuck..._

Gripping her remaining slender hand into a fist, she tried to control the rage of emotions: frustration and fear, inside. She'd have to go back. If she wanted to continue squirreling away some of the money, she had to keep going. What she could squirrel away had been little, but then again, there hadn't been much in Eden for a homeless sixteen year old when she'd arrived. Akito had provided her a safe haven of sorts: a roof over her head in the winter, and a sustainable amount of food, provided she ran the service of selling his 'goods' for him and returned to him the money she'd collected. Over the years, Lightning had found that she could shave off a little of the profit for herself - he was well aware that every customer paid a different price for them, and she knew them better than he did. A five here, a ten there... it had been slow building, but she thought she could do it.

_There's only one reason... I need money._

Doing things she'd never imagined possible, things that her parents had always told her not to do had been repulsive and terrifying at first. But Lightning had gritted her teeth, and pushed herself through it. The first thing she'd done upon arriving in Eden was to change her name... not that it had mattered. But 'Lightning' had been infinitely better than 'Claire Farron'... she didn't need more reminders of what, or who, she'd left behind. She didn't need more reminders of the childhood she could no longer embrace as she stepped into the ugly, unforgiving world that awaited her, the only way she'd known how to escape the nightmares that had gripped her no matter where she went. Try as she might, there were aspects she could never escape from, no matter how long or how hard she tried to run, because they never seemed to let her go. There never seemed to be an end to the reminders in her life that brought them up.

_Serah..._

* * *

**So yes. Personally, I've been waiting for Light for a _very _long time... haha. (Maybe that just goes to show how much I like her...) Anyways, yeah. I'll leave all interpretations of events/character development & relationships up to you guys, and I'll see you guys next time. I'm at home tomorrow, so... well, we'll see if I can't crank out Chapter 4 by tomorrow evening. (The sad thing is it's half done already - it was originally going to be meshed with Chapter 3 but I like how I ended it here, so yeah... it got cut in half) Leave love as always in reviews, I love reviews. 8D  
**

**Hearts!  
**


	4. Indelible Sin

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_**

**I'm really working hard to get as much done this weekend as possible, simply because I'm pretty busy next week with work/Co-op and all and probably won't have much time to write _at all. _:( Thanks once again to FalconTytus, you're amazing. (And yeah, I know Serah's been a big focus so far; that's expected - this is _her_ story after all, but I never intended to cut Lightning out. xD) So I do apologize if things have been moving rather slowly (for Serah, at least) - things start picking up soon, and be prepared to expect some major drama?**

**That being said, a bit of news for you all about this fic. Originally, this was going to be some big full length fic like _Nascent Requiem_; over 40 chapters were originally planned, but, after some major brainstorming with a friend over how exactly this is going to turn out (by the way, thank you, Ji Kyoun), this "story" is going to be cut in half, so there's definitely going to be a sequel to _Unwritten _now. I won't say more about this than I should because it involves major storyline elements yet to come, so just as a heads up. (But I will say... the sequel is going to be Hoperai, for those of you who care about that) Anyways, I'll shut up now, and let you guys in on the chapter.  
**

**Enjoy as always!**

* * *

Chapter 4: Indelible Sin

_"She was so, so quick to judge me. And if I was in her shoes, I'd have done the same.  
But I had to keep going, no matter what. Leaving her behind was the one thing I had to do, even if it was hard.  
Especially since I did it on a gamble with one of the things you should never gamble with: life itself."_ _―_Lightning

Serah tried to close her eyes, tried to let sleep overtake her, but it was impossible. Pillow pressed to her swollen cheek that still throbbed, she tried to control the tears. _Don't cry... don't cry. _But the tears came anyways, sliding down her skin, dotting the cotton of the pillowcase as she tried to hide under the thick fabric of the covers. For what felt like the millionth time, she wished that the covers would hide her from the rest of the world, encasing her, like a shield that could never be broken, no matter who hit it.

That was wishful thinking. The cloth settled too close to the burning, throbbing skin, clinging to the bruises that would no doubt be showing by the following morning and Serah buried her face into her pillow, breathing in the lemony scent of the detergent, wishing that that smell would drive away her troubles for the rest of time. Moving a slender arm up to curl around her head, she stared at the purpling skin on the inner curve of her wrist, wishing, for the umpteenth time, to just escape. In these times, it was hard to think positively about anything else, even Snow.

The moment she thought about the exuberant blond, it was like all other thoughts related to him became impossible to banish. He cared, and the funny thing was, she _wanted_ him to care. She wanted his protection, just like the first day they'd met, all those months ago as winter buried autumn in its endless snow drifts and howling winds. And maybe that was selfish, when she couldn't even bring herself to trust him with her secrets.

It wasn't that she didn't like him - he reached into the childish, playful part of her without even trying. It wasn't that she didn't trust him to _keep_ her secret... _It's because I'm selfish enough to think that he'll abandon me._ Unable to let go of the scars of her past, she'd clung to that fear, the primitive part of her that told her to protect self above all others whenever the topics they discussed grew close to her past. She'd tried to do a better job of controlling the times her past reared its head, managing to pass it off, but she knew he wasn't convinced. Soon, she'd have to think of better excuses.

Part of her told her, _knew_ she was being irrational. She couldn't pin Claire onto Snow, couldn't pin what one person had done onto everyone else. But her sister was the only person who'd told her she loved her - what else could she base her judgment on?_Claire said... she said she loved me... right? Why did she leave? Why did..._ The same old question dogged at her, ripping at her, and Serah forced herself to think about something else, pressing a fist into the bedsheets.

Was it fair of her to judge Snow the same way?

Serah didn't know. She didn't know if it was alright to think that way, alright to _feel _that way. _What... do I know for certain?_ What terrified her was that Serah didn't think she knew _anything_for certain. Her life had been built around deceit, fear, and secrets, revolved around them like the earth revolved around the sun. The only thing she knew for certain was something she'd always known for certain.

_I just want to feel beloved. I just want to feel that I'm not some nameless soul lost at the far edges of this world. I want to know... I want there to be a future for me... away from this. _

_I don't want to be forgotten._

* * *

Getting into the shower was easier than she thought it would be; pulling the translucent curtain closed behind her, letting the warm steam shroud her body in gentle, forgiving mists, it was almost as if she could be someone else. The warm rain pounded down her pale skin, brushing and soothing purplish patches, letting her tense muscles relax under the steady stream of water. _  
_

Hands tracing senseless patterns on the tiled wall of the shower, Serah slowly pulled the pomegranate scented shampoo through her mess of pink hair, dragging the thick liquid through the tangled locks, washing out the traces of snowfall that had settled in the cherry coloured tendrils. Raking her fingernails through her scalp, Serah wished that the difficulties in her life could be washed away as easily as the dirt that clung to her hair. _I wish there was that 'magic thing'... like the soap and shampoo that would wash away the ugliness and leave behind only the truth... A truth that I wouldn't be ashamed or scared of hiding from anyone. _

Slowly pulling a towel to her head and another around just underneath her shoulders, she leaned against the cooling wall of the bathroom for awhile, letting the warm steam prickle her skin and assuage some of the burning at the back of her throat as she breathed it in, trying to use the still-warm air to calm her breaths. As the steam slowly dissipated, her reflection became clear again in the mirror - Serah looked away quickly, not wanting to see the truth laid so plainly in front of her. Pressing a free hand to her swollen cheek, she hid her reflection from her eyes, unwilling to see what she couldn't run from.

Her footsteps were quiet as she padded back to her room, relishing the coolness of the floorboards against the bottom of her feet that were still warm. Clutching her towels closer to her, she went to sit on the windowsill, watching the fluffy snowflakes fill up the space between the two pieces of wood that framed the window. There were still small flurries that blew through the air on invisible wings she couldn't see, but the moon had managed to peek out behind ragged clouds, touching the entire expanse of snow before her to a virginal purity, undisturbed and eternal. Fixing her sapphire gaze on the silvery orb, hung in silence so far above the earth, she slowly moved a hand to press against the window, enjoying the cold under her palms.

A flash of something caught her eye in the cold winter night - looking up, Serah saw the distinct flap of wings of a lone owl, gliding effortlessly through the moonlight, unbound and sure. Watching as it flew lazily over the spread of whiteness, she realized that she envied it, envied its freedom and its control over its future. She envied its wings.

_What I wouldn't do... to trade these bruised arms for a pair of wings, these legs for a set of eternal feathers, and this broken life for one that is uncontrolled and free in the sky. What wouldn't I do... for its freedom?_

* * *

Snowfall had settled in the deepest corners of the alleyways, turning even their austere black into something that might have been touched with something other than the ugliness that it embodied, as Lightning slowly made her way through the maze of backstreets and broken chain link fences, holding her cloak to her with one hand.

It wouldn't be far now... and she had to tell herself that for the future profits, she had to go back. If she wanted to continue to save money, she _needed_ the opportunities to continue, however despicable they were. Even after over four years, she had no idea _what_ exactly Akito sold to his 'patrons'; all she knew was that she had to deliver them on time every day... and be back before midnight to turn his profits to him. Whatever it was, Lightning felt like it would probably be better if she didn't know.

The snow in the uncovered wide back streets was deep, almost reaching the top of her knee-high boots as she struggled through it, still remembering the slam of the man's hand on her collarbone. It was probably bruised, but she knew better than to take off her cloak and check - she could see the telltale bright flickers of light from cigarettes up ahead and hear the low rumble of talk. Several bands of light pierced the snow into a harsh yellow colour - the back doors of bars, no doubt. Pulling the hood of the cloak over her head, she kept her ice blue gaze straight ahead of her, used to the motion of never looking around.

More than a few murmurs echoed around her as she passed, but Lightning ignored them, keeping her eyes only on the chain link door at the very end of the short avenue. Sidestepping quickly to avoid the stumbling of a drunk, she heard him fall onto the snow, the loud crunch of flesh meeting the frozen liquid crystal flakes sounding somewhere behind her. Jerking her wrist from someone who had the nerve to grab her hand, she sent a kick in its direction, hearing a very satisfactory crunch as her boot met something hard. "Stay away from me," she hissed, drawing her right hand up in the same motion in case whoever it was didn't get the message the first time. The motion pulled at her collarbone, but she fought down the flash of pain, knowing that any show of weakness would only invite more attackers. The figure she'd kicked to the snow didn't reply right away, instead, shuffling a few steps away out of her range before hissing a few threats. Not backing down, she glared at him until he moved away from her, clearly too drunk to come up with a competent retaliatory strike.

She made it to the other side of the avenue without much further trouble; slipping through the unlatched chain link door, Lightning found herself immersed in half darkness, an abandoned warehouse just before her. The ground in front of her was devoid of snow - her footsteps echoed a little too loudly on the smooth concrete surface for her liking.

"You're late." The voice came from behind her. Taking a breath, she remained silent, hoping he couldn't hear the loud thumping of her heart as a rough hand came to grip her own slender wrist. "Where's my money?"

Pressing her lips together, she focused her gaze in front of her, seeing but finding nothing in the graffitied stone wall opposite her. The grip on her wrist tightened. "Well?" There was unsubdued anger and impatience in it now, as she fought to control the unbridled fear and trembling that had taken over her body, despite her own mental preparation for what was to come.

"I don't have it." Her voice came out stronger than she thought it would, but Lightning could hear the desperation in it. Slowly, Akito drew her wrist up to his face as he moved in front of her, brown eyes holding nothing but menace in them.

"And why not, Lightning? I thought I gave you a task to do. I thought we had an agreement." The words were slow, calculated, and held infinite ice in them.

"We did," she fought out. "But I... I-It got stolen."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why is it that I don't believe you?" Akito didn't give her a chance to reply, knocking her down with one fluid backhand and ripping the cloak from her slender frame with the same motion. Kicking her away from him with a boot to the chest, all she could do was lie there, gasping for breath on the ground, while he searched her cloak for the money she knew he wouldn't find.

Lightning knew it wasn't over when he stalked to her, a mere few minutes later - pulling her up by the collar of the shirt she wore underneath the cloak, he pinned her to the wall, slamming her back against the cold surface, ignoring her hoarse gasp of pain. Instantly, the sheer motion dragged unwanted memories up to the forefront of her mind, invading her senses, pushing away all other conscious thought. It was all too familiar, all too similar and she closed her eyes, waiting for the strike she knew would come. _Please... no..._

It did come, only a few seconds later.

Kneeing her in the abdomen, he let go of her as she crashed to the ground on her knees, one palm flat against the cold stone floor, the other wrapped around her middle, fighting the surge of pain in the wake of the blow. The swift kick that sent her weight sprawling to the floor was finished with the soles of the boot came down on her outstretched fingers, crushing her hand underneath his foot, forcing a pained whimper from her lips. There was absolutely no mercy in the brown eyes that stared down at her. There hadn't been any mercy in the ones that she'd looked up to, so long ago, either.

"I'm giving you one last chance," he hissed at her, watching her prone form painfully gasp for breath on the ground. "I trust that you won't fail me again, Lightning, or you'll get what's coming to you." Dropping something near her head, he stared at her for a few minutes longer. Unable to reply through the metallic liquid that had formed on her lips, Lightning could only watch his silhouette as he walked away from her and into the sudden moonlight that was outside, footsteps fading into the distance. She hadn't noticed that the moon had pushed its way through the clouds above, touching the patches of snow that had managed to make it through the broken rooftops.

Watching its light slowly stain the snow into something that might have resembled purity, Lightning wished that its light would erase the darkness that surrounded her life. If it could touch an angelic, pure quality to the snow that fell into what seemed to be the ugliest realms of the world, couldn't it erase the ugliness from her too?

_Why couldn't it... Why can't it help me...?_

She knew the answer to that better than anyone else: because in this world, there was no mercy, and try as she might, she was caught in its embrace, buried as deeply as the hole she'd dug herself.

* * *

***sits in silence*  
**

**I really have nothing to say this time. I really don't, other than the fact that I really, really hope this came out right and it sounded fine to you all. The second segment was suprisingly easier to write than the first, once again, I think, as always, Serah has always been more of a challenge for me to get right than Lightning. :/ Anyways, leave love in reviews if you wish - things start picking up in the next chapter and I'll see you guys tomorrow for another update before I go on Co-op!  
**

**Hearts!  
**


	5. A Little Pain

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_**

**Once again, many thanks to my reviewers FalconTytus (and yes, I thank every single one of my reviewers for the previous chapter(s) 8D), Shievi, and GKMader (and awh, thank you so much!)! You guys are amazing. So the second half of this chapter is undoubtedly dedicated to my lovely, awesome LadyAlaska, who will never stop inspiring me. I think you know of this scene as we chatted about it awhile ago, and I really hope it turned out okay, as on par with well, SerahxSnow as it could have been. n_n (by the way, I've been thinking about how to work cookies/sandwiches into this... rofl)  
**

**Enjoy as always!  
**

* * *

Chapter 5: A Little Pain

_"I wanted him to trust me. I wante__d to tell him everything, but there was a part of me that held me back.  
It wasn't that I was afraid of the truth, it was that I was afraid of _him_ being afraid of it.  
I was afraid of being pushed away. I was afraid to show him who I really was." __―_Serah Farron

The snow still clung thickly to her boots when Serah pushed her way out the front door yesterday, a lavender scarf carefully wrapped around her neck to avoid showing anyone the new bruises she'd received the previous night. As expected, Snow was waiting for her, his usual beige coat swapped out for a thicker black one, complimented by a red scarf, but he was waiting for her just the same. Forcing a thin smile to appear on her face, Serah approached him, crunching through the snow that littered her front lawn.

"Hey," he greeted her, his usual grin already present on his face. It faded a little when he noticed the dark shadows under her eyes. "You sleep alright last night?"

"Yes... it was fine." Serah didn't know how to reply otherwise to his question other than to go along with what she had always done: deny or ignore the implications that she wasn't okay. "Don't worry, alright? I promise... I promise I'm fine."

He made no comment towards her last statement, but Serah could see that she had neither convinced him, nor did he look like nothing was bothering him. "Serah... Just what are you hiding?" His wry, shrewd question made her glance up sharply - he was looking at her, again with the uncharacteristic serious gaze in his ocean blue eyes.

"I'm not... I'm not hiding anything," she whispered quietly. "You're just being too suspicious." Her second sentence held a bit more potency as it was accentuated by the crunch of her feet through the unbroken plane of white that greeted the milky orange morning light. "Please... Snow, trust me?"

He made no other movement other than to follow her through the snowbanks, his large feet easily leaving giant tracks in the crystals that had fallen to earth. Serah could tell he was still uneasy, still... _Why? Why did things have to be this way? Why can't I just... tell him?_

She knew the answer to that before she had even finished asking herself the question. _Because he can't know. No one can ever know. Even if... Even if it was safe for someone to know... Will he and everyone else just leave me, with the responsibility that inevitably comes with knowing who I am? Will he be Claire all over again?_ She had no answer to that... but Serah knew she could never give herself the chance to find out.

"Hey." She turned her head back at Snow's sudden comment, clutching the scarf to her neck. For once, the blond looked like he had no idea how to continue to say something. For once, Snow looked lost for words. "You'll tell me... if something's wrong, right?"

Turning to face him slowly, watching the photons of morning sun endow his frame, surrounded by his namesake, Serah pulled a small smile from the depths of her heart, giving it to him, even though it felt like it would break her heart to do so. "Yes... I promise." Even as he returned her shy, small smile, Serah hid the pain that flared inside from her sapphire blue eyes, looking down. "I promise," she repeated quietly.

_If I could only really promise... if I could only keep that promise..._

* * *

Closing her hand around a paper wrapped package, wincing at the purplish marks left on the back of her hand, Lightning raised her other hand to knock on the back door of a bar; wincing when she took a breath. Chiding herself quickly, she pushed all evidence of pain from her face. _No... I have to do this. _Her knock was quickly answered to - the door was wrenched open as the wooden frame that surrounded it suddenly opened into darkness.

"Oh... it's you." Taking a breath, Lightning tried not to breathe in the fumes of what was no doubt alcohol that was wafting from the darkness beyond the door. "Have you got my usual?"

Gritting her teeth, she tried to maintain a neutral expression. "Yes." Handing him the paper wrapped package, she watched him rip it open then and there, rummaging through the small cardboard box inside, several plastic wrapped packages spilling out in his haste to check his 'product'. Apparently satisfied, he shoved a handful of bills into her hand.

"There. Remember, girl, same time tomorrow."

She didn't bother replying as she walked away, boots leaving no tracks in the snow that had already been trampled flat by numerous other people. She waited until she was out of sight, pressed behind several large garbage bins before she counted the money in her hand. Taking another painful breath that seemed to attack her lungs, she reassured herself that what was supposed to be there, was there. Stuffing the majority of the bills into her cloak, she delicately picked one bill, pushing it down the front of the shirt she wore underneath. _I know... it's probably stupid of me to be doing this already, but... _But she couldn't deny that her time was running out, and she _needed_ the money.

Setting her sight on one of the alleyways that crisscrossed the back streets, Lightning picked her way through the garbage and the empty liquor bottles scattered in the avenue, pulling her hood over her face again in the wake of the snow flurries that were beginning to fall once more.

* * *

Serah stood awkwardly to the side as Snow flicked a light on in his apartment. "Sorry, he apologized quickly, "It's not much. And it's messy," he added as a quick afternote. "Sorry, didn't have time to clean before I thought about bringing you over." He looked embarrassed.

"That's okay..." she murmured quietly, taking in the surroundings around her. Like Snow had stated, it _was_ messy, but not in a bad way. Not to her, at least. She could see magazines and books littered around the couch and single bed in the bachelor apartment, some thrown over the TV and she could see that the only place that didn't look messy was the single kitchen just off the main room. "I'm not the cleanest person in the world either..."

Serah stopped herself before her mind wanted to add '_The clean one was my sister.' __No... I have to stop... thinking about her. _If Snow noticed anything odd about the way she trailed off awkwardly, he didn't show it. Instead, he laughed in a very Snow-y way, patting his head. "Guess you understand the sentiment. Go on, have a seat somewhere. Don't worry if you sit on a shirt or something."

Letting a small smile stretch her lips, Serah sat down on the edge one of the couches, delicately fingering through the pages of an open magazine on its surface, looking at the pictures. There was something about his apartment, something that she couldn't put her finger on, but it wasn't something that bothered her. It pulled at something inside... only she wasn't sure what it was just yet. Lost in her thoughts and the magazines he'd left out, it was only when Snow handed her a mug that she looked up.

"You're into cars?" she asked interestedly. That was something he hadn't told her before. He looked a little sheepish, scratching the blond stubble on his chin.

"Yeah... something like that." He gazed off into the thickly falling snow that had started around noon and hadn't shown any sign of stopping since. Serah could make out each individual flake that fell from the grey afternoon sky, the earlier sunlight pushed away by a thick cloud cover. "I've been into auto... stuff since, well, since I was a kid. For awhile, y'know, I was into velocycle racing. That was until my folks passed away."

She glanced up sharply. "What?" Her voice was a little sharper than she intended it to be. _Does this mean... does this mean he's like me... in another way that I didn't expect? _

Snow caught her expression. "Yeah... it was awhile ago, when I was fifteen. They left me their money, but, well, obviously I couldn't keep up with those hobbies if I wanted a roof over my head, yeah? So I had to give that all up. Found myself a job, balancing it with school, eh, keeping myself afloat alright." For a long time, there was silence, as Serah wrapped both hands around the warm mug, looking at her lap.

They were more alike than she'd ever dreamed. Struggling to accept the fact, it wasn't until he coughed lightly that she looked up again. "Sorry," she began automatically, her instinct telling her to apologize before she had even processed that fact.

"Nah, don't be. It comes as a surprise for most people." He gave her a sad grin. "I'll take you to my work one day, show you around."

Struggling to retain what was left of her composure, Serah tried to sound normal, tried to sound curious about what they were talking about. It wasn't hard - with him, she could let some of those feelings out. _Him... and only him._ "What do you do?"

He scratched his head again. "Not much... I'd still _like_ to go into the auto industry for sure, so I work at a warehouse. Just mostly shipping and loading parts, but hey, it might get me contacts in the industry. It's something, at least, and I get paid more than I would be at a fast food restaurant." His face pulled at the mere mention of 'fast food restaurants', and Serah felt that expression tug at her, bringing a lighter emotion to the surface, even in her current mental condition.

"What's wrong with fast food restaurants?" She giggled slightly at the look on his face.

"Nothing. They're gross, that's what. I've had enough of fast food to last me a lifetime, that's all. You tend to eat a lot of it when you're short on cash, y'know? It's just..." He shuddered. "Gross." There was a pause. "That reminds me, what d'you want to eat for dinner?"

Serah felt a blush beginning to creep up her cheeks. "Oh! You don't have to make anything special... really..."

He waggled a finger in her face. "Ah ah... gotta be nice to the guests. Though I don't know what you'll say to my cooking. Yours, I know, is good." He shot her an appreciative glance. _He remembered. _

She'd only ever made something once for him, and that was when she'd helped Lebreau cook a meal at her cafe. Out of recipe ideas, the dark haired woman had shoved the spatula at her, telling her to just 'cook something they're not tired of'. Unsure of what to do, Serah had made the one thing she could remember how to make in that flustered moment - a dish her mother had taught her.

Serah had been hesitant to place it in front of them, unsure of how they would react, but when the reaction did come, it hadn't been the one she'd been expecting. The memory of their praise had been a defining moment, a moment she could genuinely have called 'happy', one where it was unbound to her reality and unbound to her future. In that one moment, Serah had allowed herself to feel the small spark of growing warmth.

"It's not that good..." she protested weakly, smiling slightly at the disbelieving look on his face.

"Yeah, right," he countered, pushing her towards the kitchen. "Now go look through the fridge and tell me what you want to see on the table."

* * *

It was dark, and the snow on the balcony was reflecting a golden tinge from the lights inside, when Serah put down her fork, looking shyly at Snow across the table. He was looking at her with an expectant look on his face, chin resting on crossed fingers. "So? How'd I do for an amateur?" There was a teasing tone in his voice as his lips twitched into a smile.

"It was good," she replied quietly, returning the shy smile. "Don't worry about it... okay?" She watched as he rearranged his bandanna, the twinkle in the ocean blue eyes back.

"Excellent," he growled, cracking his knuckles. "Now I know what you like." Serah smiled again at the triumphant look on his face. For some reason, she knew, that this time, she wasn't smiling for the sake of it, for the mask she put on for the outer world. She was smiling because she meant it. _He cares... right?_

"I should go," she murmured awkwardly. "My uncle will be wondering where I am." Making her way uncertainly over to the door, Serah tried not to bump her elbows or shoulders on anything in Snow's messy apartment. It was difficult, and as her shoulder scraped against his open closet door, she tried to arrange her face so that it wasn't a wince, glad that he couldn't see her expression from where he was behind her.

"You want me to walk you home?"

Serah turned at that, a small smile pulling again at her lips as she shook her head. "No... I'll be fine. Thank you... Snow. For everything."

It was only when she was alone, when she had stepped out of the elevator and out into the still falling crystal flakes, that she realized why Snow's apartment had triggered something inside. Her own room was bare, stripped of any sort of decorative or otherwise eye pleasing forms of adornment, whereas Snow's had shown his true personality the moment she crossed the threshold to his apartment. The contrast between them was evident even there.

Where she lived, just like her, it wasn't going to betray any of her secrets. None of who she was, none of what her life would be, none of what her past was. It was as plain and as flat as the mask she presented to the outside world.

Snow, on the other hand, his apartment told who he was before he even had to say a word. She could tell what he liked, what his future might be, what he would eventually become just by the wordless clues left out, exposed to the world.

Unlike her, Snow was not afraid of trusting people. Snow wasn't afraid of his past or his future. He wasn't afraid of who he was.

* * *

**So I hope Snow didn't sound like a creeper, taking Serah to his house like that. I mean, Snow is such... *thinks* He's the kind of person that says and does exactly what he thinks, and obviously there was a point in him taking her to his house, which Serah does realize. It's the kind of thing (let's speak in an in game context) that would make Lightning go *facepalm* and leaving Snow bewildered as to what exactly he did wrong until it slaps him in the face like ten minutes later in the next cutscene. I'm not sure... that, to me, is just something I think Snow would do. n_n  
**

**Anyways, leave love as always in reviews (I gobble reviews like a review monster :D) and I'll see you guys... when I finally find time amongst my work schedule and stuff to type it out... and I already know the next chapter is going to be a longer one. D:  
**

**Hearts!  
**


	6. How We Live

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_**

**Thanks once again to my reviewers: FalconTytus, Myla, and GKMader! You guys really know how to make a girl smile. All the support just makes me want to get the chapters up sooner (and so you guys are happier), so I really, really appreciate all the love, whether you review, favourite, or alert me. (: Just a note that this chapter is more Lightning centric (a first for this fic)... but I did enjoy the break from Serah, admittedly, haha! n_n Also, surprisingly I finished this early - got off work early, but I doubt I'll get lucky every day, so I don't know when the next chapter will be up.  
**

**Enjoy as always!**

* * *

Chapter 6: How We Live

_"I wanted to show her... that it was okay to let it out. That it was okay to trust me.  
That I was here to listen, to help. That was what I wanted her to understand." __―_Snow Villiers

Pushing her boots through the slush, Serah looked up at the grey sky dotted with whiter patches, like the patterns on a swan's wings, spread in flight. The sun seemed determined to break through, to shine its weak light on the snow covered land below, but just like her, it couldn't break through the cloud covered skies, its light hidden and diffused through the thick shroud. Just like her, it couldn't show what it was behind the clouds that covered it. It couldn't show what it was like... inside.

Brushing a stray flake from her shoulder, Serah dug her foot into a blackened snowbank at the side of the road, hearing the icy snow crunch as her foot was pushed through its surface, breaking off several larger chunks of greyish snow, watching them scatter on the salt spread road. Pushing several stray pink bangs out of her face, she pressed her lips together, thinking of the last time she'd waited for Snow like this.

_He took me to his house._ That fact didn't bother her... she was _touched_ that he'd taken the time to show her around, to let her into his life. She was glad for the distraction of her problems and sorrows... but those problems had come creeping right back when she had walked away, a heavy new realization burdening her heart. _He's not afraid to trust me... Why? Why can't I... give him that same trust? _

She knew the answer to that before she even had to think too hard about it. Chained down, submitting to the scars left by her life before, she couldn't let go of Claire's memory. She couldn't let go of her only other experience with people who 'cared' about her... she couldn't let it stop being the driving factor in her life. _Maker... I'm pathetic. Snow _deserves_ to have a chance for my trust... and I can't give it to him because I'm scared. _

Someone waggled a finger in her face. "You're doing it again." Taken by surprise, Serah took a step back, her foot crashing awkwardly into the snowbank behind her. The motion unbalanced her and she tripped; landing on her back in the icy drift, Serah found herself looking up at the very amused ocean blue gaze of Snow. He shook a finger in her face again. "Clumsy."

The affectionate insult brought a natural smile to her face before she could shake the feeling off. Brushing icy particles from her coat, Serah picked herself up, putting a mock stern look on her face. "Look who's talking," she giggled. A strong hand came down on her shoulder, helping to steady her. Fighting the urge to twist herself out of his grip - unknowingly, Snow had tightened his grip on a bruise just below her collarbone - Serah forced back the gasp of pain, instead, forcibly rearranging her features to one that she hoped resembled gratitude.

"Thanks," she forced out, hating how her voice was strained and weak. She saw Snow look at her curiously.

"You okay? The fall didn't hurt you, did it?" There was genuine concern in his voice now. "Serah, talk to me."

"I'm fine... I'm fine," she murmured quietly, hating herself for the way she'd let her pain take over. _I wish things were... really okay. I wish things would be... really alright._ "Sorry," she apologized, voice hoarse. "Really, Snow... I'm alright."

He still looked dubious, but Serah tried to shrug it off. He'd been looking oddly at her for awhile now, and she knew that he knew something was off. As oafish and as bumbling as Snow acted like he was, Serah knew that underneath that, he held an observant criticality that had no doubt seen past her facade of happiness and the mask she put on for the world.

Snow made no comment as they started on their usual walk in the direction of the school, their feet making small crunching noises on the icy snow that still covered the streets. It was awhile before any of them broke the silence, as Serah lifted her head up to see small flakes beginning to drift lazily down from the cloud laden skies again.

"Hey...Snow?"

"Hm?" The big blond was humming quietly to himself; Serah saw that he was looking up at the snowflakes, just like her.

Serah took a breath. _I... I have to ask._ "Snow... d'you trust me?"

She saw him whip around sharply, his ocean blue gaze sudden piercing and hesitant; he looked at a loss for words. "What?" he spluttered, choking loudly. "What kinda question is that?"

"Just... I want to know," she replied in a small, timid voice, hating how his loud exclamation had echoed around the empty street, reverberating in the cold morning air. "Please."

The crunching of feet beside her stopped, and Serah, a few steps ahead of him, turned to see that he had paused, stuffing his large hands into his pockets in his beige coat. "Is that... supposed to be a question? Why d'you think I took you to my house last week?" Shuffling her feet in her boots, she looked away, unable to reply. _I know... I know that... I just... I just wanted to make sure. Selfish as it is, heartless of me as it is, I want to hear you say it. I want to know... there's a place for me to fall. _

He caught up to her, closing the space between them with one step, crossing his arms over his chest. "Look. I know you've got something up your sleeve, and that's aight. You're the type of person who says what she means. So I know you'll say it when you're ready." Glancing up again, Serah saw a snowflake land on the tip of his nose. There was a long moment of silence as they watched the snowfall slowly come down from the grey heavens, unrelenting and unsubdued. "I wouldn't have said that if I didn't trust you."

Serah felt a genuine smile spread across her lips, pushing the depths of her heart from its flat, despairing plane somewhere deep inside. The comment, however offhand, and however much it sounded like an afterthought, made her feel lighter than she had in years. It made some of the burdens that had been pressed down on her shoulders ever since Claire had left feel ten thousand times lighter. It made her feel like she didn't hold up the world... and for the first time in five years, Serah felt like she wasn't looking at the world through a lens that clouded out all positivity.

"Thank you." Her comment was simple, demure, and barely audible, but she knew he'd heard it over the soft wind that was picking up, blowing the snowflakes into discerned shapes and patterns, outlined in the drab grey and brown of housing complexes that lined the street, because he gave her a very Snow-y smile and a very obvious thumbs up.

A gentle, but strong grip pulled her forwards; stumbling, Serah wrenched herself out of Snow's grip, but she was laughing. For some reason, this time, she didn't think she was laughing for his sake... or anyone else's. She was laughing because it was the thing she wanted to express to him. _It feels... right. It feels like what I should be doing. I... I'm not afraid to show him that I'm happy. _

"Come on," Snow's gruff voice was unusually firm. "We're gonna be late if we keep standing here in this weather."

Following his crunched footsteps, Serah tagged after him, letting the natural smile relax on her cheeks, letting the motion pull at something warm inside.

_Thank you._

* * *

Impatiently pushing snow off her shoulders, Lightning took a breath before knocking on the door at the back of a bar. The damned flakes were falling once again, and the ends of her cherry coloured hair were beginning to feel heavy and damp, the moisture collecting on the wavy ends. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long before the wooden door was flung open by an older woman, pushing unruly locks of dark grey hair behind her ear. The woman grinned when she saw who it was.

"Been waiting for you, sunshine. Bout time you got here; I've been waiting for that delivery of yours. Big crowd tonight." The woman spoke with a heavy Pulsian accent as she rested one arm on her hip, the other held out in a beckoning motion. "Though I don't see why you want to continue running, er... 'errands' for Akito. Why don't you work for me, sweetheart? I'll even pay you."

Lightning let out a short, self deprecating laugh. "Right, Fang. I've already told you... no." She pulled the package out of her bag, holding out one of her own hands. The grey haired woman smirked at her when she saw the gesture.

"Sharp as always, sunshine." Pulling out the wad of bills, Fang slapped them into her hand, before Lightning wearily handed over the package. The older woman gave her a wink before shutting the door in her face, throwing one last comment over her shoulder. "Well, hun, if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Walking away, Lightning slipped her hands into her cloak, hoping the body heat of her slender frame would be enough warm her fingers. _I won't change my mind._ Closing her eyes, she paused to rest behind an alley that led to a garbage lane. _I won't change my mind. _However much Fang had and would continue to badger her about it every time she made her way to her bar, Lightning knew that she could never agree.

_As low as I've sunk... doing _this, _there's no way...  
_

There was no way she was going to work for Fang, no matter how desperate she was for the money, no matter how short time was running... _If she thinks she can drag me into the prostitution business, she's running on empty hopes._ Gritting her teeth, she took another long, slow breath, allowing the cold air to fill her lungs. _No. _

It was unnerving when she thought about how easily she could have ended up somewhere like what Fang owned... frightening even, as much as she hated the word 'scared' and any of its synonyms. _That's the one thing... I'll never do. _Looking up at the sky, which showed no sign that it would let up its unrelenting cascade of icy flakes, Lightning clenched her thin hands into fists, pushing down the wrack of anxiety and desperation. _I'm... running out of time._ She'd been here for almost five years now. _Too long. Way too long._

Walking fast, she tried to push the memories out of her mind, but they clung to her like cobwebs to damp, dark places: unforgiving and enduring.

* * *

_Rain pounded ceaselessly to earth, as a jagged fork of lightning flashed overhead, illuminating the dark, wet streets for the briefest heartbeat before the silhouettes of buildings and alleyways were once again plunged into darkness. Her feet making loud splashes, she tried to run from the dark shadows that loomed out from the depths of the alleys, the hands and gestures in no way welcoming, nor merciful. _

_She hadn't meant to go this way. Eden was supposed to be the centre of Cocoon, right?  
_

_It wasn't like this, right?  
_

_Shoved off the main avenues of Eden, she'd had no choice but to stick to the back streets, avoiding the police and soldiers that patrolled the bustling storefronts and lanes of the main city.  
_

_A hand reached from the darkness, closing around her thin wrist, pulling her towards the shadows. A surprised, frightened hiss was torn from her lips before she brought her other hand slamming into her assailant's face. It wasn't enough to make him let go of her, but it was enough to make him stagger back. Twisting the arm that was still in his grip, she brought her knee up, burying her foot into a hip. The man let go of her with an angry snarl, but not before she took off in the other direction. She heard the stumbling, off-balance, steps behind her, but he wouldn't catch her in his drunken state. Pressing her back to a broken chain link fence, she slipped behind it, hoping that the barrier would be sufficient enough to ward off any more pursuers.  
_

_She couldn't have been more wrong.  
_

_A blow sent her to her knees before she realized what was happening. Looking up, all she could see were dark figures, much much taller and bigger than her, staring at her with a gaze that she could only describe as merciless as the one she'd left behind in Palumpolum. She heard more than one cracking of knuckles before the figures in front of her parted, leaving room for one that slowly made his way to her.  
_

_"Who the hell are you?" The words were spoken in a hiss, laid over with anger and suspicion alike as he scrutinized her thin frame, pink hair dripping wet pushed over one shoulder. "Why're you trespassing on _our_ territory?" She flinched at the intonation on the word 'our', fear taking over her, even in her self discipline to not feel afraid. Trying to control her trembling, she slowly pushed herself to her feet, gripping her hands together in fists, meeting the cold brown gaze with her own ice blue one._

_"I..."  
_

_She saw someone elbow what had to be the leader of what she could only assume was a gang. Irrational thoughts and fears took over her, as the list went on and on, everything she'd been told from her childhood to what the teachers had stressed in school. Never do drugs, don't associate with gangsters, don't go wandering in the streets alone... and here she was, standing what could very well embody all of those and more. She couldn't hear what the figure was saying, but she could see the gestures and make out the occasional swear word. The brown eyes fixed on her face again, not leaving her own.  
_

_"Tell me why you're here, girl." The voice this time held something of a snarl.  
_

_Afraid to answer, she closed her eyes before taking a breath. "I... I need...somewhere to stay." There was no way she was going to say the one thing she needed above all. She knew there would be no mercy, no consideration if she even breathed the first syllable in the word 'money'.  
_

_"Do you?" The intonation in the short sentence held nothing but masked curiousity and criticality. "Do you, now?" There was an ominous pause, in which she debated if it was worth it to run. She didn't think so - her ribcage still throbbed from the blow and she was fairly sure she couldn't outrun all of them. "Well... that's something... I _can_ offer you. For a price... that is."_

_Suddenly, she was afraid of what that 'price' was. He caught the look on her face, and laughed. The laugh was cruel, cold, and it bounced off the walls and corners of what she could see to be an abandoned warehouse. "Not like that. You see... I need... a 'runner', of sorts. We're as involved as it is in turf wars with other gangs... and can't spare anyone. But you seem like you'd be fit for that role. So... what do you say?"  
_

_She'd been right. This_ was_ a gang, and she was caught right in the middle of some conflict she had no idea of its cause or consequences; nor did she care, unless it was going to affect her in some way, which it looked like it was. Still... "What... am I supposed to do?" Her voice caught on the last word, and she tried to hide it, swallowing past the raw lump in her throat._

_He laughed again. "I still need money to fund all of this... Luckily, there are people all over the ah, 'back side' of Eden who are willing to buy my... shall we say, products. You'll deliver those to them, and collect the money, which you will turn over to me. In return, you'll get to stay here... and join us."  
_

_Trying to balance the offer with her conscience, she tried to ignore the fact that she could no longer turn down the offer. Her supply of petty cash she'd carried with her from Palumpolum had long since dried up, and she'd learned the hard way that no one in Eden would hire a sixteen year old without an address nor penny to her name. There was no other way.  
_

_"I'll do it." Her voice was quiet, unsure, and he took a step closer to her.  
_

_"I can't hear you." The tone was mocking.  
_

_"I'll do it!" This time, the louder repetition hid the tremors that her voice might have still held, erased the sound of doubt from her voice.  
_

_His snakelike smile grew. "Excellent. You may call us... your new family." He'd been about to turn away before he shot one more cold glance at her. "Tell me... what is your name?"  
_

_Name. Name, name, name. Trying to ignore the onrush of pain and memories that the question had brought, she shook her head, pushing wet pink bangs from her face. That was when bright light flashed through the sky again, and she looked up. The traces of the electrical discharge was still there, and it had been no more than two heartbeats when the telltale boom of thunder crashed down onto the city. Admiring the flash, the omnipotent power that was hidden behind the one display of energy; suddenly, she knew what the answer was.  
_

_"It's... It's Lightning."  
_

_His smirk was evident even in the darkness that followed the bright flash.  
_

_"Well..._ Lightning_, I'll see you tomorrow morning."_

* * *

Shaking the memories from her head, she tried to focus on what she had to do, and that was to make her way to the next point of delivery. The bag slung over her arm under the cloak was starting to get heavy, but Lightning didn't dare switch arms. She'd seen what the homeless, intoxicated drug addicts could do to someone unsuspecting when their grip on their things loosened for even a moment.

A stray snowflake landed on her cheek, dripping and melting onto her neck, inadvertently touching the fading bruise from a week ago. The cold felt nice on her collarbone, the one attack whose marks hadn't faded yet. It was starting to snow more thickly now, layering the dirt and grime of the back streets with a cover of white blankets, pure and untouched. Through the haze, Lightning spotted her next destination, the graffittied and broken wooden door that marked the back of what was no doubt another pub. She hissed a curse between closed lips when the mental image of the owner came to mind - he was always staring at her, no doubt undressing her mentally, and made more than a few lewd comments whenever Akito instructed that she deliver to him.

It wasn't like she had a choice.

_Some things in life... you just do._

* * *

**I love that line - I quote it at friends so much, especially when I'm trying to drag them to the mall or something and they don't want to go. For once, I think there was more Lightning than Serah in this chapter, which I kind of feel bad about... but oh well. There hasn't been much of Light since we started so... let's just say I indulged myself. I think I've mentioned it before, but I have an infinitely easier time with Lightning than I do with Serah. Maybe it's because Serah was so vague in XIII, and so goddamn flat and stereotypical in XIII-2, whereas Light actually had a personality that has quite a bit of character to be easily portrayed in almost any situation... (I think Serah wants me to stop comparing her with her sister now, which is what I've been doing ever since I made the transition from NR to Unwritten... Oops) **

**Anyways, yeah, enough ranting about how difficult Serah is for me. Leave love as always in reviews, and I'll see you guys soon!**

**Hearts! **


	7. Worlds Collide

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_**

**Once again, love as always goes to my reviewers: FalconTytus (to answer your question, yes, everything has been planned out already so, well, just hang tight. :p I'm keeping it vague, at least, in one sense of the word; letting you all draw your own conclusions until, well, until I wrap things up), GKmader, and Whistlewind Wolf (awh, thank you! (: And I honestly don't know about the reviewers- I don't mind that much though, I write because I want to improve my style. And to answer your question, _Unwritten_ itself is probably only going to end up to be 20 something chapters but there will be a sequel about the same length so this storyline as a whole probably just under NR's length), Yuu (thanks so much for the kind compliments!), and saphir! I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again: support = happy me. Happy me = faster updates? 8D So anyways, we've been moving slowly up until about Chapter 4, in which I mentioned things will start picking up soon. And this chapter is where the drama begins~ *epic music plays* **

**Anyways, enjoy as always! (:**

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Chapter 7: Worlds Collide 

_"I wanted to trust Snow. He kept me going, even in darkness, even in light.  
He made me feel more sure of who I was. Watching him, I began to believe that my life was in my hands... No one else's." ____―_Serah Farron

"Where are we going?" Serah felt out of breath already, tagging after Snow in the early spring afternoon sunshine that dared to peek beyond the thin, wispy clouds that covered the periwinkle blue sky. The big blond only grinned, flashing her a thumbs up as she followed him through Eden's busy streets, weaving through security and shoppers alike.

"You'll see." He laughed that laugh of his that she loved so much, the one that made her feel like nothing in the world was wrong. It wasn't true, it would never be true, of course, but in the moment of solace that it provided, she would embrace it. It helped her forget... at any rate, even if it was only for the moment. She would never stop remembering, never stop living in her moments of pain... but when him, she found that she could forget and enjoy the moments that the present gave to her. Serah found herself cherishing those moments more and more.

The nights hadn't stopped, but in Eden, her uncle was busier than ever, sometimes not even coming home. She'd clung to that like a lifeline; lying awake in bed, she could only let herself relax and breathe again when the green numbers on her clock passed 12:00 am, the time in which she knew he wouldn't bother making it home to one of Eden's suburbs. It was only then she could let the smell of detergent on the covers comfort her, relishing and cherishing the fact that she could go another day without pain, without the shadows of reality snapping at her ankles.

With Snow, she found that she could enjoy her time more, cherish more things that she hadn't noticed before. Earlier in the week, he'd shown her the delicate blooms of the early peony and wisteria that flowered in the yard of someone down the street, just before the wrought iron gate of the school. He'd shown her the pale blue eggshells of robins and other birds that lay on the sidewalks after the new life those shells had housed had broken free... things she'd never had the time to notice or appreciate before. But now, with him, she found that she could discover these things, amongst other small things that had passed her by in her years of despair. With him, she found that she was thinking less and less about her sister, less and less about the questions that had plagued her, and less about the hurt that had caused.

At first, she'd been a little bothered by it; she felt as though she was intentionally, willingly, letting go of her sister's memory, before Serah had pushed away that thought. Surely, memories of her sister would only weigh her down, trap her beneath their unrelenting coils, never let her go. Without them, without the constant fear and anxiety that had been at the core of all those memories, Serah found that she had finally let some sense of trust take her again. She found, that with the fading intensity and fears that someone else would leave her again, she was able to look forward. Finally, she felt like she could take control of her future again.

"What're you smiling at?" Quickly glancing up, Serah saw the indulgent look in Snow's ocean blue eyes.

"Nothing," she replied a little too quickly. "Just... I'm happy."

She saw his grin pull wider. "You should be."

_And I am... I'm not smiling... I don't feel this way, because I want him to think that I am. It's taken him a long time... to finally crack through that shell, that exterior. But slowly... I realized that my smiles were becoming genuine. Slowly, I realized, that I _wanted_ him to know how I felt. _

"Where are we going... again?" She saw him laugh at the question.

"You're so naggy. Stop being impatient, aight? You'll see when we get there." He pulled her hand through the crowds in front of a department store as they waited at a crosswalk at an intersection. Serah found that she was shyly enjoying the contact between his hand and her wrist and the warmth it provided. _I've never... Physical contact was never my thing; it was something I always avoided, ever since... _But strangely, with him, it seemed that she didn't mind. As embarrassing as it was to admit, Serah knew that she wanted the moments their hands joined, whether in a gesture of help, or just in general content... _And that's... that's how much he's changed who I am._

"Alright... alright." She put on a mock stern face, glad that he had warmed her enough for her to finally, finally, tease him back. "I trust you'll keep your word, _hero_._" __With him, I can finally let some out it out. _

He laughed again, just as the light turned green on the opposite side of the road. "I swear it's good."

* * *

The shade hitting the top of her pink head felt nice, even though though she had enjoyed the sun that had been absent from the Cocoon skies for so long. Looking around, Serah could only see neat concrete walls and several loading bays. Her sneakers were somewhat loud on the cement floors as she followed Snow up a ramp. "Where is this?"

"My work," he tossed over his shoulder. "Remember? I told you I'd show you one day. C'mon, I'll show you around."

Suddenly, she was hesitant. "Are you sure... it's okay?"

He laughed. "Sure. I'll give ya the grand tour, and well, err... I guess-"

Catching the awkward look on his face, Serah let her lips spread slowly in a smile. "I'll wait for you outside. It's a sunny day." She let the smile spread a little when he opened his mouth to object. "I... don't mind." Following him through the large auto shop at the front and to the back, where she could see boxes and other assorted cargo lined up in stacks. "Is this... what you do?"

Snow scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, mostly, I handle the shipping and loading in this place. Not much, I know, but money is money, and the atmosphere is great." _No... of course, it's more than just 'not much'. You... you're in control of your own future, which is much, much more than I can say for myself. Even now._ He turned the moment footsteps sounded behind them.

"Hey kiddo. Looks like you're early for once- Oh, who's this?" Serah turned to see a tall black man with an afro walking towards them, dressed in an olive green overcoat. Snow laughed; clearly, he knew whoever this was well.

"Just a friend... showing her around, you know."

The older man scrutinized them critically, before sweeping his gaze back to Snow. "You sure she's just a _friend_?"

Snow looked unusually uncomfortable at the question. "She's just a friend," he maintained firmly, carefully hiding his face in his jacket. This time, it was the older man that laughed, clapping Snow on the back.

"Whatever you say." Turning to her, the man warmly offered a hand. "Nice to meet you, there. Name's Sazh Katzroy. I own this place." He had a gruff, unmannerly way of speaking, but just like Snow, the hoarse tones belied a gentler heart. She could hear the warmth in it, the fond tone his voice held. _He sounds... so much like... _She couldn't think it. Serah couldn't think about how much the tone reminded her of her own parents.

Serah took it, closing her small fingers around the calloused hand. "Serah... Serah Farron. It's nice to meet you too." She tried to keep the uncontrolled tremor out of her voice, tried to keep her voice as steady and as flat as possible. _I can't... I can't show this... now._ Turning around, she made for the exit at the back. "I'll wait for you outside... Snow." Fighting to keep her voice light, she made her way into the sunshine, trying to keep her breathing steady. _Don't... Serah, don't, _she chided herself, hating herself for how easily she had almost snapped again at the smallest trigger.

Settling herself on a low cement ledge, warmed by the spring sunshine, Serah turned her face up towards the lightly clouded Eden sky, Phoenix settling low in the distance over the tops of the highest buildings. Hugging herself, Serah tried to let the breeze pull at her pink bangs and relax her trembling limbs, but things didn't work that way. She couldn't get out of the emotional backlash as easily as she'd walked away.

_I just want... I don't want to remember. I don't want this to rule my life... but it's impossible. No matter how far I run, no matter how hard I try to forget or to accept it, no matter who I try to associate with, it doesn't go away. I can't escape.  
_

Pushing a stray pink strand of out of her eyes, Serah tried to focus on the brilliant, fiery orange of the setting sun. Clasping her hands to her chest, she rested her chin on the linked fingers as she stared up at the dying blaze. It felt nice here, in the downtown district of Eden... it was as far away from her own world as she could get... immersed in Snow's world, she could let the sights and sounds of his reality cover her own like a shroud. _It's not... it's not an escape, not in the sense of the word... but I'll take it. I'll take this reality and make it my own, even if it's only for a little while. _

Watching the fal'Cie Phoenix sink low over the horizon, she saw the bright, bustling city of Eden turn from the metropolis that was admired for its beauty into something else. For the first time since she'd visited the inner city since moving into Eden, she saw it as the darker, more unforgiving maze of winding streets falsely bathed in fluorescent light, the one that hid its darker secrets. The sun hadn't fully set yet, but she could see the majority of the shoppers and businesspeople alike sticking closer to the lit storefronts.

Serah didn't know how long she waited there, sitting on the rapidly cooling cement, but she didn't mind. The last rays of the fal'Cie cast strange, yet beautiful, shadows on the buildings and silhouetttes that the world of cement provided, almost like she'd been plunged into a different reality, one that she had never known existed before. _As different as it is... I like it. It's so different from home... I don't think a world of cement and metal is supposed to be pretty, but... but it's different. And I'd do anything for a difference in my life. I'd do anything for my life to be different, so in this, even if it's only a temporary illusion, I'll take it._

"Hey. You're still here." Looking up sharply, Serah found Snow's black bandanna highlighted by the dying sunlight. "Sorry, didn't mean to keep you waiting."

Jumping down from the slightly elevated ledge, Serah shook her head. "No... you didn't keep me waiting. The scenery here is nice... I don't mind."

"Is that so? Huh, never thought you cared about all these buildings. C'mon, lemme walk you home."

Serah shook her head slightly. "No... it's just... It's different. Something different in awhile is a good thing." She hoped she didn't sound too cryptic or wistful as the sentence left her mouth, and she saw Snow look ahead carefully. _Does he think... I said the wrong thing?_

"You... you're interesting."

She didn't know how to reply to that. Shyly taking the arm he offered her, Serah let him lead her onto the main avenue, still bustling with those coming from later jobs and the occasional windowshopper. Neither of them said anything for awhile, before Snow paused, stopping just before an alleyway, blocking her with a thick arm.

"Snow, what-"

He didn't let her finish. "Sh." Closing her mouth, she glanced up at him. His relaxed expression had gone tense and she could tell there was real force in the arm holding her back. _What..._

Then she heard it. Faint shouts, the pattering of quick feet, the sound of more than a couple of blows, and the slam of a door. It wasn't a few heartbeats before a figure in black raced out of the alleyway, one gloved hand held to its face. In the setting sun, she couldn't make out any features, but Serah could tell from the silhouette it was a man. The sea of citizens instantly parted to let the figure through - Serah saw the figure cross the street, darting in between cars stuck in a late hour traffic jam, before finally disappearing into an alleyway across the street.

"Gangs," she heard Snow hiss. "Eden's full of backstreets and alleys, places where the army doesn't want to patrol because no sane citizen that lives in downtown Eden wants to live in the backstreets from when Eden was first established. Since then, gangs and other people, like drug lords, have taken over the back street. You name the taboo, you'll find it somewhere there." He turned to her, his expression serious. "Don't ever go there, Serah. There's no mercy out there... it's a free for all, a true survival of the fittest. Those who aren't strong enough or don't have the street smarts to stay alive are swallowed quickly... and once you are, there's no going back. There's no return."

Scared by the sudden intensity of his voice, Serah took a step back. "I-I know. I won't." The last words came out as a whisper; his hand tightened on her wrist slightly. She had no idea where the passionate words had come from, but she knew she would be a fool not to pay attention to them. Still, the hook of curiousity nagged incessantly at her. _How... How does he know?_ She didn't want to think of the only possibility that came to mind - that he'd been there once, before she shoved the thoughts angrily out of her mind. _I can't... I can't doubt him when he's done so much for me... I can't let doubt take over again. I promised myself that._

As he pulled her forwards through the throng of people, she couldn't resist casting one cursory glance into the gathering darkness of the alleyway the man had turned out of. There was one solitary figure still standing there, a bunched grey length of cloth in one hand. That hadn't been what caught her eye though. The figure had to be at least fifty feet away from her, standing near what she could only assume was a junction between the alley and the backsteets - she could see a chain link fence just beyond it - but she thought she caught the flash of petal pink hair before she was pushed forwards by the throngs of the crowds in Eden.

_No! It's not possible... It can't be her. _Shaking her head furiously, Serah pushed the traitorous thoughts out of her mind. It wasn't possible - she'd looked for five long years and had never found her sister. It wasn't possible that she was here. Instantly, her defence mechanism began thinking of other explanations for the sight she _thought_ she saw. _I can't even prove that it's her... It could have been a trick of the light_... _I didn't see whoever it was clearly... There's just no way it could have been her! If she's been here the whole time... why didn't she come looking for me? _

As many excuses and plausible explanations her rational mind could think of, Serah couldn't shake off, couldn't ignore, what her raw instinct, what her heart was telling her.

_That was Claire... wasn't it?_

* * *

***wiggles fingers*  
**

**Well, I think I'll just shut up here, because that last line sets up the scene for the next chapter, which I don't want to reveal any details about too soon. Leave love as always in reviews (I love reviews) and I'll see you guys soon (still rather busy, so expect Chapter 8 sometime next week?)!  
**

**Hearts!  
**


	8. Sakura

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_**

**My love for my supporters is eternal: GkMader, Mylaervain, saphir, Whistlewind Wolf, Suqu124, and FalconTytus. You guys rock. And to LadyAlaska, no way, hun, I love you _way_ more.**

I think I left you all with some hanging questions last time, which, of course was intentional, but there are supposed to be questions hanging in front of you for quite awhile, some which will get answered here, some which will not... which I won't say anything about until we get there. ;3

Enjoy as always!

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Chapter 8: Sakura

"_I wanted to hold the newfound joys in my life like the delicate petals that grew on the trees.  
But just like the flowers, there's always the rain that comes, always the one thing I can't control, that rips me apart." _―Serah Farron_  
_

Pressing her fingers to the window pane to push it open, Serah tried to think of a better way to hide the bruises on the back of her hand and wrist. The shirtsleeve of the school jacket wasn't long enough, and everyone else -especially Snow- would be suspicious if she wore gloves in early March, when the trees were finally beginning to bloom and spread their colour through the landscape that marked this suburb of Eden.

Digging her way through her chest of drawers, she struggled to find something appropriate. The worst she could do was stay home, but... _But with him, I feel like myself. I _want_ to see him._ She wasn't quite sure what else there was between them - yes, it was often he liked to spend time alone with her, away from his usual gang, but_... __But that doesn't mean..._ She could feel heat rushing up her cheeks at the thought. _I can't... It's not right... Even if there _is_ something __between us, I can't... being with me comes with so much, so much I don't want to dump on _anyone_. That's not fair..._

But deep down, she _knew_ she wanted his protection, the way he made her happy, and that scared her. _I can't..._ Twisting her hand unnecessarily in the neatly folded clothes in her drawer, Serah tried to think about something else.

It was so cruelly ironic that she found the only thing that could keep away those thoughts was the question that had clung to her since last week when she'd accompanied Snow to his work. The one question replayed itself over and over in her mind, and Serah was still unsure of the answer. Briefly, she wondered if she _wanted to know. __Do I... do I really want to know if it was her?_ The overwhelming terror of that thought was like an all consuming flame - unrelenting and unbrindled, all she could do was cower in its face. _Do I want to know if it was... really Claire?_ Unceremoniously clawing her slender hand into a fist around a shirt at that thought, Serah forced herself to calm down.

_As much as I'm scared of it... I have to know. I have to know if it was her._ She knew she sounded like a masochist, wanting to inflict more pain on the soul that was already fragile and frayed, but Serah knew she would never stop wondering if she didn't. Somehow, she knew that if she didn't find out the truth, it would haunt her like an indelible regret that she would carry for the rest of her life. The more logical, rational, part of her mind kicked in when something inside her asked what she was going to say... provided that it _had_ been Claire she'd seen last week.

That was something else she was afraid to untangle, one of the other burdens she could never shake off her shoulders. _Should I... Do I hate her, or..._ No matter how long she had pondered on those thoughts, no matter how long she let herself dwell on that, Serah could never find an answer. She could never figure out how she was supposed to feel towards her sister.

There was no doubt that betrayal was part of it - Serah felt that painful, desperate emotion tug and pull at the emptiness and loneliness that had been left whenever she thought about her sister. But was she angry? _I don't... _Serah didn't know. _If I had been in her shoes... would I have run away too? Would __I have finally snapped? _She refused to dwell on the implication of that:_Was she finally tired of protecting me? _The brief sympathy and guilt that brought on was instantly pushed away by the more selfish side of her, the side that spoke whenever she was with Snow. _It's still her fault... She knew what would happen, she knew... She knew what would happen to me. _She was back to the question that had been with her for nearly five years. _Did she mean it... when she said "I love you?" Or was it..._

"Serah! We're going to be late!" Snow's slightly impatient yell came from outside her window. Panicking now, Serah realized that she'd been so absorbed in her own self pitying thoughts that she still hadn't found something to cover the new pattern of bruises decorating her hand and wrist. Finally, her hand closed around something wooly at the very back of her drawer; pulling it out from several layers of clothing, she held it up in slight triumph. It was a pair of red fingerless gloves, knitted from the wool of who knew what? Pulling them on, feeling gratified at the satisfactory way they concealed her hands and upper wrists, she quickly crossed the floorboards to the window, poking her head out.

Instantly, Snow's stormy expression vanished as he caught sight of her, pink ponytail pushing against the left side of her head in the breeze and he lifted a large hand in his usual customary wave. "Coming!" she called down, trying to ignore the way her heart instantly lifted at the sight of him. Pulling the front door shut, she was surprised when the weight vanished from her back as she struggled to lock the door. Glancing upwards behind her, she saw the very familiar grin of Snow as he held her bag for him. "Thank you," she breathed out quietly as she finally heard the lock click.

"Not a problem." He gazed down at her. "Not like you to be late, huh?"

Looking at her feet as they walked, Serah tried to hold the tremor from her voice when the question irresistibly pulled at the _real_ reason she'd been late this morning. "Sorry," she mumbled quietly, trying not to sound like she was lying. "Alarm clock broke."

Thankfully, thankfully, Snow bought it, letting out a laugh. "Alarm clocks? Who uses those?"

Serah found herself staring at him, slight amusement bubbling up despite the way the morning had begun. "You don't? Then how do you get up on time?"

He laughed again, scratching the back of his bandanna. "Don't worry about that part. All you need to know is... I do."

Despite the indecision that still clawed at the depths of her heart, Serah let out a small giggle, holding one gloved hand up to her lips, pressing her fingers against her nose. "I won't, then." She saw him give her a thumbs up.

They walked in companionable silence for awhile, before Serah decided to break it. "Hey... Snow?"

"Uh huh?"

"Is... is it alright with you if I go to work with you again?" She saw him look at her oddly, before clearing his throat, coughing into the morning air.

"Well, I don't mind... but why? It's not like you have anything to do there... do you?" His intonation on the last words 'do you' sounded suspicious.

Serah shook her head quickly. "No! It's just... well, I'd like to see downtown Eden again. And I don't want you to take me specifically..." she added quickly, seeing him open his mouth to object. _I can't... I can't look for her if he's with me. And I don't want to drag him into this._ Serah hadn't understood her reluctance to tell him about her sister until she had carefully mulled it over, lying in bed one night. _I can't tell him... anything, because I don't want him involved... I don't want him to see the part of me he never sees. _

Scratching his chin, Serah saw Snow carefully think over her words. "If you _insist_ on it being that way... well, sure. Though I don't see why I can't take you on a day off." He had a childlike pout on his face when he enunciated his last sentence, and Serah suppressed a giggle at his expression.

"Thank you," she replied quietly, carefully averting her gaze.

_I have to know.  
_

* * *

Watching Snow disappear into the warehouse, Serah made sure he was out of sight before hopping off the low cement wall. Taking a deep breath, she curled her hands into fists beside her; squaring her shoulders, she made her way out of sight of the auto repair shop and onto the busy streets of Eden. This time, Eden was lit by Phoenix and the brightness of the afternoon rays as Serah weaved through the window shoppers, looking for the alleyway she though she'd seen Claire last. She didn't remember where exactly it was, but she thought she knew the general direction of it. Pushing against the throngs of people, she carefully made her way in the direction of the alley.

Heart pounding painfully in her chest, a sudden doubtful thought struck her. _Am I... should I be... Who knows if I'll even find... _Shoving her indecision aside, Serah tried to focus on what she had to do. _There's no... going back n__ow. I can't... no. I have to do this._ Stopping in front of an alleyway, she gazed into the darkness, feeling the instinct to run when she looked closely down the path. It couldn't have been more different from Eden, and yet, the two worlds were literally a few feet away from each other. The Eden she knew, and the Eden she knew most of the people around her knew was a clean, efficient, beautiful city, the largest metropolis in Cocoon. And yet, just beyond the beautiful face, was a whole complete other world, one hidden by tall buildings and the shadows themselves.

The moment she took a step down the darker alleyway, her foot sank into a puddle that hadn't evaporated because it was hidden by the sun. The cold drops flicked down her exposed ankle, and Serah shivered - the droplets felt cold and strange on her skin. Controlling the shiver that wracked her thin frame, Serah took another breath, trying to use the air to calm herself. It didn't work - the air here was stale and didn't do much for her lungs. Each of her steps sounded too loud, and she tried to step more lightly, straining her ears for any sounds ahead. Making her way through the winding alley, she tried to remember the turns she'd taken and the general direction of where she'd come from - the thought of getting lost, here, was overwhelmingly terrifying. It seemed like at least half an hour had passed before there was a change in the dirty, shadowy maze of alleys. Feeling her heart rate slow a little when no one came to attack her, Serah tried to dwell on that fact. _Maybe... maybe I've just gotten lucky and there's no one here. _

The sudden rush of footsteps in a brighter backstreet just ahead instantly made her look up; reflexes and instinct taking over, Serah pressed her body against the grimy wall of a building as a figure staggered back, clearly having been hit by something... or someone. Quickly ducking down, hidden behind what she could only assume was some sort of metal cargo box, long since rusted, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the voices. There was the sound of a scuffle, and the unmistakable slap of another blow, then several more.

Serah could hear the slow footsteps of a weary approach. "Fucking bitch," snarled a voice, and she cringed against her wall, hoping that she wouldn't be discovered by whoever owned that voice. It was rough, somewhat slurred, and held nothing but aggression and defiance. "You think-"

There was the sound of a boot meeting something hard, and even hidden behind an obstacle, Serah heard the _crunch._ "Get the hell away from me," was the hissed reply. "Or I'll be happy to rearrange your face for you again." Serah froze. _I... I know that voice...! _Heart pounding too loudly for her liking, she thought it was going to burst out of her throat. Hugging her arms to herself, she drew in a breath through her mouth, letting it out slowly. It was only then that she realized her limbs were shaking uncontrollably. She heard the uneven, desperate scuffle of someone getting up and moving away, staggered footsteps fading into the silence. Frozen in shock and fear, it was only when Serah heard the even, brisk footsteps of someone else walking away did she rush from her hiding place, fully facing the setting afternoon sun.

"Claire!"

Shielding her face from the harsh golden orange light, she saw the tall, slender figure in front of her freeze, one hand still pulled into a fist. In the brightness, Serah could make out knee high boots, torn jeans, a thin black sleeveless shirt... and what was unmistakeably petal pink hair. "Claire!" she repeated, her voice louder and more confident this time.

"What the hell..." the voice was raspy and flat; the only emotion in it was rushed shock. "No! Serah..." That was when her sister turned, both hands now curled into fists. For the briefest moment, Serah saw a storm of emotions ravage the ice blue gaze - pain, anger, shock... and several more she couldn't place, before her sister started towards her. "_What the hell _are you _doing here?"_ The voice was filled with a hoarse shock, and Serah was surprised to hear the barely suppressed tremor in it.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Serah let the emotions of the moment embrace her, letting the thoughts and feelings become what she was. Her indecision wiped by the question, it wasn't long before she managed to muster the pain and anger to reply. "What am _I_ doing here? Is this... Is this where you've been all this time, Claire? Hiding here? I thought... I thought you _cared!_ Why did you..._ Why did you leave me with him?_" Feeling the tears slip past her eyelashes and down her cheeks, Serah refused to wipe them away, curling her own slender fingers into fists; she wasn't surprised to find that her whole body was trembling.

"I..." Unable to look at her sister, Serah directed her gaze to the floor, watching her teardrops stain the muddy brown cement with dark spots. It was awhile before her sister continued, but she found that she didn't want to look at her sister, didn't want to see her reaction. "I... had no choice."

Looking up, feeling pain and frustration rip through her at the horribly inadequate, impossibly vague reply, Serah took several steps back. "You didn't have a choice? Claire... I..." _I thought you cared... I finally find you again, and this... this is all you can say to me? _"You're... Have you... You really don't care, do you?" Her last words came out as a whisper as she took off, turning her back.

"Serah, I-"

Ignoring the hand she knew her sister had reached out to her, she ran, past caring that her footsteps were too loud, past caring that tears were now running unchecked down her cheeks. She didn't stop until she bumped into a wall; sinking to her knees, sliding down the wall, she buried her face in her hands.

_I was right... I was right... She doesn't care. I went... I finally find her again, and all she can ask me is why I'm here. All she can tell me was that she didn't have a choice... does she think _I _had a choice? I was right..._

For some reason, being 'right' didn't help in any way, shape, or form. Being right hurt more than not knowing. Being right made her feel like she _had_ been abandoned, _had_ been betrayed. Serah didn't move until the light of Phoenix began to slip downwards, her limbs trembling now not from emotional catharsis but from cold that was starting to prickle her skin. Picking herself up from the unforgiving ground, she stumbled along unknown paths, surprised when one of them led her to a street she didn't know in Eden. It wasn't familiar, but she walked amongst the crowd, wishing that the sea of lives that went on around her would swallow her and the pain that she embodied.

It was truly wishful thinking.

* * *

Lightning knotted her hands into her pink locks of hair, like the motion of fingernails digging into her scalp would help relieve her of the inner turmoil. She might as well have been wishing for Phoenix to rise up again instead of sinking past the horizon.

She had never in a million years expected Serah to come find her... _here_, of all places. _Here,_ where she had come to escape. _I..._ _I didn't mean..._ Cursing herself for not trying to explain things better to Serah before her sister had run off crying, Lightning tried to convince herself that had been... alright. _She's not coming back... right? She's not going to come find me again, right?_ Clutching the now empty bag to her, she unsteadily made her way back to Akito's hideout, the day's profit that she'd chipped off hidden safely under her shirt. _I..._

_I have to keep going. Even if she hates me... even if... _

_Serah...  
_

* * *

**Told you there was going to be drama. :p  
**

**Well, once again, I leave all interpretations of all events up to you guys. Leave love as always in reviews, and I'll see you guys next time! Expect the next chapter probably sometime this weekend or by the latest Monday or Tuesday.  
**

**Hearts!  
**


	9. A Thousand Paper Cranes

**So**** hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_**

******For once, I got this done early, so yay, congrats to me! *simpers***

**Once again, I begin with my thanks for my reviewers: Gkmader, Mylaervain, Saphir, and FalconTytus! Your support makes me smile, and you guys are amazing. 8D This chapter is quite a lengthy one for this story, at least, (I've done 6K chapters before... *coughs lightly*) and there is _one_ segment that is quite dark and emotionally heavy... so, I'm just warning you here. **

**Otherwise, enjoy as always!**

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Chapter 9: A Thousand Paper Cranes

_"She got hurt... because of me. So if she hates me, that's alright.  
Even if she hates me for the rest of her life... that's something I will bear, even if it weighs the world."_―Lightning

Resting her head against a tree trunk in the school courtyard, Serah tried to look like she was interested in Snow and Yuj's conversation. She tried to focus on the story Snow was telling, but it was hard. The words swirled around her like meaningless butterflies caught in a sudden storm, leaving her helpless, trapped in the eye of the hurricane. That was exactly how she felt.

Snow had finally found her in the corner of the intersection that they'd crossed at last time. He seemed to have bought her story then, about getting lost, but Serah knew, deep inside, that he knew she'd been up to something. He knew something was wrong, and to his everlasting credit, he hadn't pressed her that night, just two days ago. She'd gone home and cried herself to sleep, not knowing what to think anymore, not knowing how she was supposed to feel anymore.

That she was angry, that she felt betrayed, that much was clear. But the rest, the rest that came with an onslaught of questions and thoughts like a whirlwind left her as despairing and helpless as if her sister had physically torn apart. At the end of the night, two questions dominated all else, raging in her thoughts, clouding out every other coherent thought.

The first had been... what had _her sister_ been doing there? Claire _had_ to know what the flipside of Eden looked like, had to know what kind of lifestyle went on beyond the pretty face of the capital city; Serah had _seen_ her as part of it. That thought inevitably trained into the next question, which at first, had been how her sister was surviving in Eden. That was when Serah cut herself off. She didn't think she wanted to know the answer to that. There were only so many things that her sister could do to sustain herself... and they only grew more disturbing as she went down the list of possibles. _What... what does she do?_ That Claire was doing things that their parents had told them never, ever to touch was undeniable.

What was ironic, almost _funnily_ ironic, was that she remembered the conversation she'd _had_ with Claire in which her sister had told her the exact same thing their parents had. To think of her sister that way was... unthinkable. She couldn't. Pushing those cotton balls from her mind, Serah tried to focus on the present. _He... can't know._ That was for certain, that she couldn't tell Snow. _He'd only... no. I can't..._ Trying to chew past the sawdust-tasting food in her mouth, Serah took a breath before wrenching herself away from her past.

A delicate petal landed on the back of her palm, and she picked it up absentmindedly; the motion only served as a distraction from her current mental state of being, as she examined the patterned pink and white blossom.

"Pretty, huh?" Lebreau had reached over, her long fingers brushing just the jagged tip of one of the petals, admiring its shape. "These cherry blossoms, there're lots around here during the spring."

Serah looked at the blossom as well, the almost perfect flower waving a little in the spring breeze. "Yes... it's pretty." _And it _is_ pretty, pretty because it has nothing to hide. It can show its perfection to the world and not be ashamed of it because it is what i__t is. There are no hidden secrets behind the pink tinge to the petal. Its beauty is in its simplicity. _The blossom was plucked, unsuspectingly, from her fingers, as Serah glanced up, surprised to see Snow suddenly looming over her, the flower looking ostentatiously out of place in his large, gloved hand. "Snow," she complained quietly, letting a somewhat indignant whine creep into her voice. Truth be told though, she was glad for his antics; she was no longer that surprised that they jolted her out of her thoughts instantly. _That's why... that's why I like being around him. He's so full of confidence in life that it's hard to dwell on something sad when he's being silly. _

"Didn't think you admired flowers so much," he smirked playfully down, a grin tugging at his lips. Serah pressed her lips together as she slowly stood, gingerly aware of the new patch of bruises on her back as she held out a hand.

"Give it _back _if you don't want to," she replied, smiling slightly at the hurt expression on his face.

"Didn't say I _didn't_ admire it," he chortled. "It'll just..." He reached over, tucking the flower into her cherry coloured hair just above her left ear. "...look prettier in your hair."

Blushing furiously as Lebreau and Yuj crowed with laughter, Serah stood there, hands awkwardly twisted behind her as she looked at the ground, trying not to think about how embarrassing those words had been. What was funny was that... it was only embarrassing that Lebreau and Yuj were laughing at it, because inside, those words had tugged at something else, something that spoke directly to all her insecurities. _I..._

Looking up, she saw that Snow had the same embarrassed look on his face, and this time, that expression drew out a genuine smile. _He's the kind of person that says what he thinks... whether it's right or wrong. Maybe that's why... that's why I like him so much. Because he's not afraid to be himself. _

"It's okay," she murmured quietly. Almost as an afterthought, she added something else in an undertone, so that only he could hear her - Yuj and Lebreau were still chortling away. "Thank you."

His expression cleared almost instantly as he grinned again; only, this time, it wasn't the confident, 'hero' grin, as Lebreau called it. It was the one that made her feel like she was appreciated... that he knew she existed and cared that she did.

* * *

"Fuck!"

Avoiding the angry sweep of an arm, Lightning dodged out of the way of the incoming blow, hearing the nasty crunch as the man's fist collided with brick. Livid eyes turning on her, she flicked her own hand out to grasp his wrist in her grip, stopping his retaliatory blow, holding his arm several inches away from her face. Still gripping his arm, she dug her boot into his chin, the kick driving the man away from her. She heard the satisfactory slam of a body on hard cement as she turned away.

"Don't mess with me," she snarled to the brightness of sunlight in front of her, her body still tense. "I'm not here to take this kind of shit from you, so either pay up with what you'd owe for this," she cracked her knuckles, "or get the hell out of my sight and stop wasting my time." The words were a little harsh, but she didn't care. She was done playing nice.

Part of her knew that she was reacting to how Serah had found her a few days ago, but she didn't care. That only spoke to prove how little time she had left, and she didn't have the luxury of it to be wasting it on patrons of Akito's that dilly dallied around the payment for his 'goods'. The other part of her was just angry and frustrated at herself for losing control so easily in the face of Serah's pain. She hadn't meant to snap out like that, but shock and anger at Serah's words had triggered something inside, something that had quite literally evaporated the moment Serah had run away from her, crying. Her anger had dissolved on the spot, leaving her feeling as empty and as drained as she had nearly five years ago; the moment of utter desolation when she'd found herself alone in the rain in Eden. That same pain from back then had threatened to consume her there, before she steeled herself, willing herself to go on.

Serah hadn't known the perfect truth, but Lightning could tell from the expression in her sister's eyes that she'd been close enough. It wouldn't be a surprise if Serah had figured out what she was doing here... but her sister didn't know why. _And if I have it my way... she'll never know. She'll never have to know. _She'd clenched her fists, forcing away the burn of pain at the back of her throat. _Serah..._

A scuffle somewhere on the level of her boots brought her back to the present. The man had struggled to his feet, a large, purpling bruise decorating his chin where she'd kicked him already prominent. She noted the other mark on his face where the soles had scraped across his skin with quiet satisfaction. "Here," he rasped, shoving a handful of bills in her face. "Take it, and give me my stuff." He held a hand to his face as she closed her fingers around the money, counting the bills mentally.

Dropping the bag meant for him on the ground, she turned to go. "Don't give me a hard time next time," she hissed behind her, her fingers crushing the paper money in between her palm and nails.

The blow landed in the middle of her back - staggering forwards, but quickly regaining her balance, she lashed back with a kick, feeling unbridled satisfaction and anger surge through her when her boot collided with something hard. This time, she didn't hesitate to punch the in the temples, sending him crashing to the ground spluttering for breath. Breathing hard, Lightning fought down the burn of anger and irritation that he'd had the nerve to try and attack her even after the fact was already over. "You-"

She was angry enough to hit him again, but she restrained herself. She knew Akito didn't mind if she pressured his clients a little, but he'd specifically warned her not to make it so that he'd lose them. Forcing air down her lungs, Lightning had to content herself with the sight of him crawling away from her, dragging his pathetic bag of stuff with him as he went.

Briskly walking away, Lightning stuffed the money away in the bag she carried with her, carefully peeling a ten to stuff down her boot where no one could see her. She was in an abandoned alleyway flooded with sunlight, but that didn't bother her - she was too used to Eden's backside to feel intimidated by being alone. What had bothered her was that she'd seen the ragged, incoherent look in the man's bloodshot eyes just before she'd punched him. That, coupled with the waxen skin that clung to his frame, only spoke too clearly about what exactly Akito was selling to him.

She'd known that he dealt in drugs, and that she'd probably handled most of that since he'd 'taken her in', but she didn't touch the stuff itself. She didn't know exactly what was in all those packages... and didn't want to find out, which also happened to work harmoniously with Akito's agenda. If she was ever caught by the police, she could honestly say that she didn't know what was in them. _Maker, I don't even want to know what that stuff's done to half the people he sells them to. _

Shielding her eyes with her free hand, Lightning made her way through the winding backstreets, conscious of the presences of more than just a few people crowding at the edge of her peripheral vision. Keeping her eyes straight ahead, it was only when she heard a faint cry that made her look up sharply. At first, icy fear froze her muscles - what if it had been Serah, coming back to look for her again?, before she pushed that thought away, letting the cognitive part of her mind rule out that possibility. _It wasn't... That wasn't Serah's voice. Besides... she as good as told me she hates me. She wouldn't come back... right?_ It was when she was trying to push that thought out of her mind when the sound came again - this time, she caught it clearly.

It had definitely come from her left, which also happened to be the way she was supposed to be heading in to make her way to her last destination for the day: Fang's bar. It was only when she set her feet down the still-damp, puddle-ridden alley that she saw the source of the sound. A young girl -younger than her for sure- was lying on the ground, rich red curls on pale skin contrasting horribly with the dirt and grime of the shadowy cement. Running forwards, driven by instinct and instinct alone, her boots making splashing noises every time they came into contact with a dank puddle, it was only a few heartbeats before Lightning found herself next to the girl.

That was also the moment she saw the knife pushed through the girl's stomach. Bile and disgust rising in her throat, she fought the instinct to look away; instead, bending down, carefully observing the girl's face. She looked familiar, and Lightning struggled to place the face as she mauled through her mental list of the people she'd come into contact with in Eden's backstreets. It was a few moments before she found the answer, dread and repulsion pulling at her stomach. "Aren't you... You're one of Fang's..." She couldn't bring herself to say the word.

Dirty, bloodstained fingers closed around hers; Lightning fought the dire urge to wrench her hand out of the girl's grip; finding, to her surprise, that the skin of the hand gripping hers was smooth, unlike her own rough, calloused palms. Instead, she forced herself to look into the girl's sea green gaze, finding the pain and fear that lay in their viridian depths, their beauty ruined and marred by the smeared and smudged blue makeup around her eyes.

"Yes..." came the hoarse, whispered reply, layered with a thick Pulsian accent.

"How... What happened?" It was against her nature to care about someone that wasn't herself here, where there was no such thing as mercy, but when she looked at the girl, pale and slender, dressed in a peacock blue and mint green outfit, it was impossible not to draw the similarities and parallels. It was impossible to ignore how easily that could have been her... _Or Serah. _That alone was to drive the long hidden compassion up to the forefront as she let the grip on her hand tighten.

"A p-patron attacked me... he said he only wanted to talk..." Pushing back the urge to throw up, Lightning looked at the knife pushed through the exposed abdomen. She wasn't a doctor, far from it, but she'd been here long enough to know a fatal wound when she saw one. She'd seen too many gang turf-fights, too many scabbles over drug dealer territory to have not seen death. She'd walked these streets too often to not pass by a wasted body lying motionless in the corner, ravaged by either drugs or alcohol... or both. And she was as sure as she had been then, when she'd first seen death, that right now, there was nothing she could do.

Fang's place was too far - she doubted she could even support the girl's weight, even if she could get the girl to stand up and lean on her. And there was nowhere else that would even _help_ someone else - that was the true cruelty of Eden's backstreets: either you were strong enough to survive... or you weren't, and became just another number, just another life that disappeared through the cracks. So, with trembling fingers, she did the one thing she could do, and that was to return the grip on her hand.

"Why didn't you run... Didn't you see the knife?" The harsh words were impossible to control. _She should have known better, goddammit!_ Even if the girl had been foolishly deluded, she should still have known a weapon when she saw one.

"I-I didn't mean... to leave the bar... H-he offered me more money if I went with h-him... I didn't know...!" Staring at the girl's pain ridden emerald eyes, Lightning tried to control the flood of emotions the phrase 'more money' irrevocably brought on. _Would I have... How different am I from her, other than the fact that I'm not selling my body for... Just how different am I?_ The answer, she knew, was 'not very', as the girl voiced the one thing that drove everyone in Eden's backstreets that wasn't a gang leader or a drug lord or someone like Fang, who played right along with the desires of many who inhabited the place: money.

Breathing a pained gasp, Lightning tried to come up with something to say, but nothing came. There was nothing she could say in her own defence, nothing she could say that would make reality dissolve like the rainbows that disappeared all too quickly after a thunderstorm. There was nothing she could say that would wipe the wound and imminent death from the nameless girl whose hand was trapping hers. There was one final gasp, one final, pained, sentence, before those soulful sage eyes closed. "I just wanted... to help my family a little more."

The pressure on her fingers disappeared, but Lightning didn't let go; unable to stand, the pain and overwhelming despair of that one sentence crashing down on her, she tried to comprehend, to process the meaning of that final sentence. _"I just wanted to help my family a little more."_ _  
_

_No..._

Was this how she was going to end up one day as well, if she wasn't careful? Was this what she was going to become, when she finally grew desperate enough to do something just as stupid: a body tossed uselessly to the side of an alleyway, forgotten and nameless?

* * *

Serah toyed with the lined paper of her homework as she waited for Snow to finish a question. They were at his apartment because he'd invited her over again, and a half hour math lesson was turning out to be three times that length. Pulling another piece out of her binder, Serah didn't realize what her hands were making in the background noise of a pencil scratching until it came into existence; wonky and slightly out of shape, she held a small paper crane in her hand.

"What's that?" She looked over to see that Snow had looked up from his work, the pencil looking pathetically small in his large hand. Smiling slightly, Serah held it up before him.

"It's... it's a paper crane." She let him take it from her fingers, watched him fumble with the paper bird, feeling amused that even an origami crane could be dwarfed in his large hands.

"How the hell d'you make this from a piece of paper?"

Instantly, the question chipped at the interior she'd struggled to hide from him for the past few days. _Claire taught me... She taught me how to make these. _Fighting to keep a steady voice, she took another piece from her bag, showing him the creases and folds necessary to turn it into the paper bird. She watched the wonder spread on his face as the flat, blue lined piece of paper turned into something that at least somewhat resembled the birds that flew above the marshes back home in Bodhum. "Here... see?"

He ruffled her hair with a hand - Serah found that the motion didn't disturb her at all in any way; what bubbled up inside was warm, comforting... she felt _loved_ when it happened. "Didn't know you could make that sort of stuff."

He didn't say anything as she picked up the one that was on the table, cupping it between both palms as she walked to the large glass doors that led to the balcony, facing the setting sun. "They say... They say that if you make a thousand of them, your wish will come true," she murmured quietly, carefully not facing him.

She heard the scrape of a chair as it was pushed back, then footsteps as he walked over, stopping just beside her. "Does it... now? And what is it... that _you_ wish for, Serah?"

Turning her head away slightly, Serah couldn't reply. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell him what she wanted... it was that she was afraid that she couldn't.

_What I want... I want Claire, the one I know, to come home. I want her back... the old her, not the one... not the one I met. I want us to be able to get away... and I want to spend my time with Snow. I want them both here._

_That's my wish.  
_

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**Undoubtedly, the centrepiece of this chapter has to be the Lightning segment in the middle. I struggled through it the first time, and then edited and re-edited it, because it had to come out right. There was a certain angle I was hoping to hit with that scene with well, I think you guys know who it was, and the "version" (I did three different takes on that one segment in different sittings, then went through them all snipping pieces and phrases) that appears in this final product of Chapter 9 is the one I thought I did the best on. So I hope I did okay... *bites nails*  
**

**On a lighter note, poor Snow. I didn't really mean to insult him, well, maybe I did, but math can't be that bad... n_n  
**

**Leave love as usual (and as always, concrits are always welcome!) and I'll see you guys soon! I hope to have Chapter 10 done by Tuesday, but no promises because I am still rather busy and all... *sighs*  
**

**One more thing. For those of you who've read _Nascent Requiem_, how d'you guys feel about a sequel? IDK, I've been toying with ideas and it's for sure a possibility - I have some ideas in mind and yeah... I'll be putting up a poll, and you can either vote there or leave me a review/pm/whatever. I just want to know if that's going to be a go for everyone after I finish _Unwritten_ and its sequel. :3**

**Hearts!  
**


	10. The Promise

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_**

**Once again, I begin with my love for my supporters: FalconTytus (while certain aspects of this fic are certainly inspired by my own experiences, no, none of this is _directly_ drawn from anything of my personal life), saphir, and GKMader! You guys are awesome! :3 And undoubtedly, this chapter is surely dedicated to my lovely, awesome _LadyAlaska_, who I hope will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. (:**

**Gratitude and hearts aside, this chapter is certainly heavily significant in terms of, well, you'll see. 8D I don't want to spoil anything, but I can and will confidently say that most of you reading this fic have probably been waiting for this. n_n**

**Enjoy as always!**

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Chapter 10: The Promise

_"I wanted to put my sister behind me. Whatever she was, whoever she was, that no longer mattered.  
What mattered was here and now. What mattered was what I wanted to make my future look like." ―_Serah Farron

Clamping her hand over her mouth, Serah felt the tinny liquid brush against the skin of her palm, wrapping her other arm around her middle as she limped her way to the bathroom. Trying to contain the pained whimpers from the heavy, drunken footsteps that were fading down the hallway, she swallowed, only to feel the raw, metallic liquid warmth grate against the back of her throat. Her own footsteps uneven and unsteady, she flicked on the bathroom light with a shaking hand, squinting in the sudden brightness.

Purposefully not looking at the silver reflective surface of the mirror, she quickly shoved the faucet in the bathtub on before pulling the silver knob that started the shower. It was a very long 'awhile' before the shroud of steam that the shower brought calmed her, watching the scarlet blood running down her pale limbs turn pink and translucent in the unrelenting warm rain that drummed on her back. Forcing the tears back, Serah rested both palms on the still cool tiles that lined the bath, trying to use the solid, strong ceramic to steady her own shaking frame. Slowly dragging pomegranate scented shampoo through her cherry coloured locks, the balmy smell served to enhance the illusion that could only be created here; in the misty wreaths of fruity steam and the gentle, caressing cascade of water, it was here that she could feel somewhat protected, like the fluid atmosphere was a cocoon from which a creature lay sheltered. _And if only it could give me wings... as well. I wouldn't be here if it could give me wings that would never stop beating._

Intangibly beautiful wings weren't the only things that she wanted to wish for, but could never happen. _I want... I want to be happy, I want Claire home... the Claire I know, I want..._ She cut herself off there. There was no way Serah was going to admit that she wanted Snow's protection so easily... just like that. _I can't be so selfish... it's wrong. As much as he cares, will he still care after he learns... all of this? _That was where the hesitant, shy warmth that was undeniably associated with him twisted itself around into fear and doubt.

He had long proved to her that he wouldn't leave her; Serah found that she was no longer _afraid_ of abandonment. She didn't know exactly _what_ about Snow told her this, she didn't know what he'd done to wordlessly reassure her that he wouldn't cringe from her and leave her like her sister had, but that was no longer something that plagued her and clouded her thoughts and feelings. _I just... know. _But she was still scared, even though he had long proved himself worthy of her confidence. _I... There's so much he doesn't see... that comes with me. There's so much that even I... that even I have no idea how to even begin to express and explain. Claire, _him_, my past... there's just so much that I can't just dump on someone and hope for them to be able to solve it all. _

Pushing the silver knob back into place, she stepped out of the shower, left hand reaching for the lavender fluffy towel that dangled from a rack. Scrubbing the soft fabric against dripping pink hair, she pulled the sunshine yellow bathrobe from the hook behind the door, leaving her petal coloured locks tangled within the cloth as she slipped her arms into the sleeves, still determinedly not looking in the mirror. The pattern of purple bruises was already showing on her neck though, and she could feel her bottom lip beginning to swell - her cheek pounded painfully as she quickly pressed a cold water infused hand to it, trying to assuage the throbbing that assaulted it the moment she put pressure on the pale skin.

Wrenching open the wooden door, steam preceeded her into the room as Serah slowly made her way to the bed - sitting down on the bedcovers, she breathed in again, only this time, the dense, warmer air that pervaded the room didn't do as much as the steam in the shower had done. Feeling too lethargic to go over and open the window that would provide at least some relief, she lay down on her side, curling towards her right side, facing the bedstead.

Try as she might, the tears came anyways. _I... I just want... _

* * *

Laying her head down on the smooth wooden surface of the desk, Serah looked out the window at the pale pink petals adorned with newly budding reddish leaves as the teacher walked back to his desk, having finished his lecture. She felt a piece of paper being slid underneath the crook of her elbow; murmuring a thanks, she tried to concentrate on not falling asleep in the spring warmth that had recently graced the classroom. Someone poked her in the side.

Forcing down a pained yelp, she turned her head to look at the teasing ocean blue eyes of Snow. "Ow," she complained quietly, hoping he hadn't seen her reaction to the teasing prod that had touched her bruised ribs.

If he had, he didn't show it. "Sorry," he muttered back. "But I've got a surprise for you." When she lifted her head interestedly, he grinned triumphantly down at her, amusement dancing in his gaze. "Excellent. You're coming downtown with me this afternoon. No complaints, aight?"

Someone howled with laughter behind them; twisting around in her seat, Serah saw that Lebreau was trying to stifle her laughter - other people were turning to stare. "Finally got the guts to ask her out, _hero_? This one's going in the papers."

The heat rushed to her cheeks so quickly that Serah didn't have a chance to hide it - when Lebreau caught her expression it only served to fuel more laughter as she heard Snow's chair scrape in his motion to get up.

Whatever he had been planning to say -or do-, was cut off by the monotone drone of the bell as the dark haired girl danced past them blithely and was out the door before Serah even had the chance to stuff the piece of homework in her bag. Too embarrassed to look at Snow, she packed her things in silence. It was only when a gentle touch on her shoulder brushed the ends of her wavy pink hair that she looked up into the flustered features of Snow. The expression instantly tugged somewhere deep inside as a small giggle made its way past her lips. "Sorry," he croaked, "I didn't mean it like that... Serah-"

She cut him off with a hand to his thick wrist. "I know," she breathed quietly. "Come on... I'm excited for this 'surprise.'" She hoped those words would reassure him that she hadn't been offended - not disappointed, she saw his exuberant grin returned to his face the moment the words left her mouth, as he led the way from the classroom and into the noisy hallway. Tagging after him, it was only when they were safely outside the wrought iron gate of the school that he spoke again.

"I hope you'll like it." For some reason, he sounded hesitant and unsure of the statement as they settled into the familiar, easy pace that they'd established a long time ago. Smiling ruefully, Serah glanced upwards at the delicate blossoms that waved cheerfully in the faint breeze, glad for the escape from her reality... glad for anything that took away from the nightmarish flipside of her life.

"I'm sure... I will." _And that much... is true. However heavy the burdens my reality are, spending time with him makes them weightless and insignificant when he's there. When I'm with him, they don't seem like they define my entire life. I know it's borrowed time... I know it can't last forever, and that sooner or later, I'll have to confront them all, but until then, I'll take it - this small piece of happiness and security I can't find anywhere else. _

* * *

This time, there was no dark temptation to peer into the unknown depths of Eden's backstreets. Carefully orientating herself away from the alleyways, Serah forced herself to push all thoughts of Claire from her mind. _I can't... No. She doesn't... not here. _"Where are we going?" The question made her feel more reassured that she wasn't here alone, that there was someone there, supporting her.

Snow flashed her a thumbs up. "I realized you've never been to the prettiest part of Eden yet. There's this new park that the Sanctum completed in the last coupla years - it's full of cherry blossoms, which I _know_ you'll like. So that's where we're going."

_He remembered._ Shyly glancing up at him under demure, hooded eyelashes, Serah let the small smile warm her cheeks. "That's... kind of you. Thanks." Her own voice was unsteady and unsure, though Snow returned her uncertain happy expression with his own confident one - Serah recognized his trademark grin.

"Naw, don't mention it. I gotta repay you somehow for helping me out with those math problems last week." He scratched the back of his head absent mindedly as he glanced up at the periwinkle blue sky. "All those numbers... They just don't make sense at all; surprised I even passed the test last Friday." He grinned down appreciatively again, amusement twinkling in his ocean blue eyes. "Clearly thanks to you."

Shyly glancing away quickly, Serah tried to cover her own embarrassment by rubbing her face with her hands, keeping her head in her fingers even after the initial flush of heat had passed. "I-I'm not that good..." she stammered awkwardly, pushing away the unrelenting rush of memories and emotions that had come with tug of Snow's offhand compliment. _Claire was always... Claire always told me to work hard in school... _Shoving the thoughts away, she tried to focus on the present.

"Bull," Snow retorted playfully. "You're smart."

Serah could come up with no competent response that wouldn't reveal too much. Taking her silence for agreement, Snow steered her towards the park entrance, grinning. "Here we are," he announced with a flourishing gesture.

Peering past his large arms and thick fingers, Serah saw a world immersed in the same beautiful shades of pink and white of the one tree that adorned the school courtyard. Unable to contain the intake of breath, she felt Snow push her forwards a little. "Knew you'd like it," he said knowingly, grin wider than ever.

Hesitantly taking a few steps forward, pink hair tugged a little by the gentle breeze; for a moment, all she could do was stand there, admiring the view in front of her in silence. It was a long time before either of them spoke; feeling a rush of gratitude to Snow's respectful silence, it was her that broke it. "You're right... Thank you."

He laughed, pulling her forwards a little. "C'mon, let's go inside, shall we? There's tons to see - you're not doing this place justice by standing here at the entrance." He steered her past the curtains of white and pink. "It's still early in the afternoon, so not a lot of people'll be here."

Stopping, Serah turned her face up to watch the small flash of a brown and crimson wing of a robin, returning to its nest hidden amongst the delicate branches, a worm clutched in its beak. Several moments later, a small, bald, pinkish chick peeked out, beak open for the food its parent had brought, cheeping madly.

The emotion slammed into her without a forewarning. _Once, someone cared for me... just like that. Once, I was loved unconditionally. Once, I was reassured that someone would always return to care for me. _

"Hey... You alright?" Snow's hand tightened on her shoulder. With a slight start, Serah realized she had been clenching her fists and looking down.

Taking a breath, she tried to muster the inner equilibrium she knew she had to have in order for him to stop worrying. "Yeah... I'm fine. Don't worry." Try as she might, the last words came out as an unconvincing hoarse whisper. She found herself being spun around to face his concerned ocean blue eyes.

"You sure?"

Shaking herself out of his grip, Serah clasped her hands behind her back. "Yes, I'm sure." The word were a bit more forceful this time, and she saw Snow relax a little, some of the uncertainty leaving his gaze.

"If you say so... Listen, there's this bronze statue somewhere in here of something you'll like." Scratching his chin, he made his way over to one of the plastic signs at the end of the crossroads of the paved path. "Where is it now..." he muttered quietly as she followed him, feet brushing the fallen petals on the smooth brick red stones as she went.

"Aha!" she heard him exclaim moments later. "Found it! C'mon, it's this way and you've gotta come see." Feeling an uncertain smile reach her lips despite the unexpected emotional blow, Serah struggled to keep up with him as Snow took off in a half run down a paved path to their left.

* * *

He hadn't been lying when he'd said it was something he thought she'd enjoy. As the tunnel of trees opened up into an clear area lined with green grass and assortments of daffodils, she saw what he had been referring to: a gilded, bronze statue of a long necked crane, metallic wings spread in flight. Slowly moving forwards towards it, she stopped at the ring of peonies that surrounded the statue that gazed majestically into the weak sunshine of the pale blue sky.

"It's beautiful..." she whispered quietly, hearing his louder footsteps just behind her. "You were right."

He grinned down at her. "Aren't I always?" he asked confidently as he waved his right arm in triumph. Looking around, Snow led her over to a bench were she could look at the bronze bird, plopping down beside her. "Look... Serah..."

The sudden hesitation and uncertainty in his voice made her glance sharply at him. "Is... something wrong?"

He laughed again, but this time, Serah could detect a nervous tone in it. "No, nothing's wrong... well..." He trailed off awkwardly. "I just-" At this, he clamped his mouth shut again, swallowing with an obvious effort.

"You just... what?" _It's... it's not like him to be so unsure. Snow's the type of person to charge right into things; he's not afraid to say what he thinks and he isn;t afraid to do what he thinks is right. _Suddenly, she found that she was scared - this was so unlike Snow that she was scared of something being seriously wrong. _No..._

He looked away from her, a muttered curse dropping from his lips. "Goddamn... Serah, I..." As if steeling his will, he glanced at her sharply, once, before three words she never thought she would hear again came, reverberating in her eardrums. They were rushed, hoarse, and almost inaudible, but they came with an undeniable genuine tone. "I love you."

For a moment, Serah had no idea how to react, no idea how to even being to formulate a coherent thought in response to the remarkably simple statement that sent a million different epitomes of emotions coursing through her body.

The only thing that she could feel after the inital onslaught of feelings was shocked denial. _No! How... how is this possible? How can he... How can I..._ She didn't realize she was backing away from him, her back meeting the iron of the siding of the bench, until unfamiliar pain crossed his features. "Snow, I..."

She couldn't even finish her sentence before she was getting up and running.

There was so, so much that those three words had brought she could no longer face it, no longer able to contain emotions and thoughts that warred interminably with each other, ever since they'd met, ever since she'd discovered the warmth of their moments together. _I... I want this to be possible. I know myself well enough to know that that much is true. But..._

The list of 'buts' was endless and painful, and in the end, it all came back to her past... what she couldn't reveal, what 'came with her' as the consequence of knowing who she was, and the heavy burdens her shoulders carried she couldn't dump on anyone.

_And... and _he_ said... if anyone ever finds out... _

It was both painful and warming to know that she cared about him too.

* * *

It was a long time before Snow finally found her sitting on the ledge of a fountain in the scarlet sunset, arms wrapped around herself. Serah had stopped crying awhile ago, but the puffy skin under her eyes spoke otherwise to her mental condition when he finally laid a tentative hand on her shoulder. "Hey..."

Looking up into worried, pained ocean blue eyes, she knew she had to say the words that had to be said. "Snow... I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." Her mumble was quiet and hesitant; closing her eyes to the backlash she thought she knew would come, Serah didn't expect the arm pressure on her skin as he gripped both her arms in his large hands.

"No. _I'm_ sorry. Shit, Serah, I shouldn't've dumped that on you like that, I-"

"No!" Her instant refusal to let him apologize surprised even herself as she heard his intake of breath. "No," she repeated, the word softer and quieter this time. "Snow... how I reacted, i-it had nothing to do with you." _And everything to do with me. _"I..."

He silenced her with a gentle finger to the lips. "Y'know... you don't have to say anything. I think you should have some time to think that over, no?" Snow finished the statement with a weak, watery attempt at his usual grin.

Shaking her head furiously, Serah found that her slim hand was desperately reaching for his, longing for the warmth she knew they would provide. "It's not like that... Snow, I..." Taking a breath, she finally let out the words she knew she had wanted to say aloud, the words she had secretly wanted to admit, for a very, very long time. "It's not that I don't want it," she finally whispered.

For awhile, there was only silence as the gurgling and gushing of the water fountain sounded behind them. _I... I have to explain. He has a right... to know. That much, he deserves. _

The only thing Snow did was tighten the contact between their fingers as he waited for her, proof that he knew her well enough to know that that was not all there was to her reaction.

"There's just... so much that comes with me," she finally admitted. "There's so much... and I'm not! I'm not the person you see sitting here in front of you, I'm not-" Serah found herself cut off by a sudden, tight embrace.

"Silly." The warm words tickled her ear as Snow's free hand caressed her pink hair. "D'you think... I didn't have that figured out... by day one? Serah, I _knew _that there're things you're not saying... and that's alright."

Pulling back sharply, Serah found that she was not all that surprised by his words. _Somehow... I knew... he knew. Somehow, I knew that he knew I wasn't the introverted, shy girl whose mask I put on... he saw right through that, didn't he? __Still... _"You did?" Her voice was hoarse, and she could hear her own fear in it.

This time, the smile that twitched at his lips was the one she knew and loved. "Course. I mean... you react oddly to some things... ditzes like Maqui and Lebreau might not notice, and heck, I might have been looking at you more than what was polite, but I did."

Feeling his words tug at the long hidden warmth somewhere deep inside, Serah felt the ghost of a smile stretch her own lips as she carefully looked to one side, gaze trained on the paved stones of the ground. "And that... does that bother you?" This time, her voice was almost inaudible - she realized that she was afraid of his response. _What if it does? What if... _The pain of that thought was almost incomprehensible.

"Would I be here if it did?" The shrewd, certain response made her look up, meeting his ocean blue gaze with her own sapphire one. "Everyone has secrets," he stated plainly. "Everyone has things they'd rather not say: regrets, resentments, bitter memories... all of that. There're two sides to everyone we meet. And it just so happens that I love the person who can't bring herself to tell me. And I'm cool with that - everyone _should_ have their own secrets." This time, it was him that looked up at the deepening sky, a fond expression on his face as he continued. "But I hope, that in time, she'll trust me enough to tell me at least some of them, the ones that pain her the most, the ones I can help with. Cause I've got them too, stuff I don't tell everyone I meet, but deep down, stuff I wish I could share with someone."

Serah was startled when he abruptly stood up, facing the orange and purple cloud formations that had gathered on the eastern horizon in preparation for the coming twilight. "So whaddya say, Serah? D'you want to come along? Heck... we might even discover things about ourselves while we're at this." His voice was strong and in no way uncertain as he offered her a hand.

Looking up, Serah found that she wasn't scared of taking it, grasping his thick, gloved fingers in her own slender ones.

The smile that crossed their lips was mutual.

* * *

**So... wow. I've been working my way towards this scene for ages, and now that I've finally done it, I really, really hope I did it justice; not in the way I hope I got Lightning's segment right last chapter - for this one, I felt it was better to just _write_ and let the raw emotion and candidness of that scene come naturally. So I really, really hope I did alright. *bites nails nervously* (But if I do say so myself, I'm quite proud of the way Snow's speech came out. xD)**

**That being said, the themes of this story are rapidly being overlaid and we're moving onto the next 'plot point' so to speak, fast. **

**Anyways, leave love as always (and please, any concrits are helpful) - I'll see you guys all next time! For now, I'll just have to head off to bed with the notion that I could've done worse than I did. **

**Hearts!**


	11. Will to Fight

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten! _**

**I did manage to finish this chapter earlier than expected, so I went, eh, might as well post it. xD**

**Once again, my love for my supporters is eternal: GKMader, and Falcontytus (and to rain0205, thank you as well!)! Thank you all so much for your kind words and well wishes, and I will do my best not to disappoint!**

**A note of warning just here; the following chapter is dark in the sense that there are scenes of explicit violence, so read at your own discretion. Other than that, enjoy as always! (:**

* * *

Chapter 11: Will to Fight

_"So he knew, all along, what chased after me and plagued me. He knew that there was a side of me no one else saw. Not only did he accept it, he embraced it, wholly and surely. And I think that _that_ was what made me feel like things would be okay... because he knew that." _―Serah Farron

Sitting on the couch in Snow's apartment, Serah hummed absentmindedly as she watched him don the frilly pink apron and dig through the fridge, keeping her comments to herself. Catching her smile, he gave her a playful scowl. "Hey. _I_ didn't pick this apron, alright?"

Giggling, she got up to straighten the bow that decorated the kangaroo pouch in the front. "No," she ascertained. "You didn't. But still, it's cute all the same." He laughed at that - the laugh that she loved so much, before setting several large chunks of frozen chicken onto the frying pan and shaking salt over it before reaching for the ceramic jug of oil.

Watching him, Serah let a brief smile cross her face before he proceeded to pour what looked like half the small jug over the pieces of meat. Gripping his thick arm half heartedly, she gave him a playful poke. "You're going to give us cancer," she remarked disdainfully.

"No, I'm not. C'mon, Serah, a bit of extra grease isn't gonna hurt anyone." Snow's retort was just as lighthearted.

Pulling back his arm, this time, she couldn't contain the silvery laugh that she knew would come eventually in his presence. "And you say you hate fast food? Snow, you could be a chef at one if you keep this up."

Feeling him push her out of the kitchen, muttering darkly that _he_ was the one doing the cooking, Snow set her down on the couch again, wagging a finger in her face. "No more nagging. You just sit here and let the hero do the work," he chided mock-sternly, before turning around, the fabric bow that she'd tied with the straps of the apron swishing as he did.

Watching Snow return to the kitchen, Serah found that her hands were no longer twisted tightly in her lap as they usually were when she was around other people, but held loosely, relaxedly. The soft, faint smile had returned to her lips naturally, before she even knew why. Searching inside, she didn't have to delve long to find the answer.

_I know... I know this happiness is on borrowed time. I know that sooner or later, something will happen that will no doubt reveal everything about my past to him. _But the strange thing was, she was no longer dreading that moment. Sure, it clung to the edges of her consciousness like a dull blade, waiting to strike, but now, it was not so much dread as it was acceptance. _It's going to happen. I know it. Whether it's Claire or _him_, something will come that'll break this illusion. But he's here... he said he'd help me through it. _

_I have to believe that things'll be alright. _

In the two weeks since the fateful moment at the park, Serah had realized that that was the most meaningful thing he had instilled in her: his own confidence in life. _Even if I think that when he finds out, he'll reconsider his vow to take care of me, I can't doubt what's beyond my control. How he reacts, how he'll take it... that's something I can't foresee nor direct. Because Snow is Snow, and I'm... myself. I can't pin how I _think_ he'll react onto him._ Snow had taught her that, to stop worrying about things she could neither control nor change, and Serah knew, that for his sake if not her own, that she had to at least try to accept this new view on life.

And the funny thing was, that when she tried to see things his way, it _was_ easier. Instead of doubting everyone, instead of relating everyone she met back to her sister, she found that she _could_ see past the perceived darkness in everything and see things for what they were. She found that there were things she _could_ genuinely enjoy and laugh at. That, perhaps, had been the thing that had finally convinced her that this had been the right choice to make.

"Looks like_ someone's_ not hungry." Serah jerked her head up to see Snow place two plates with a flourish on the table just a few feet away from her, mock disappointment decorating his features. "Dinnertime."

Scrambling to her feet, Serah suppressed the fleeting wince that crossed her face when the movement tore unexpectedly at her shoulder. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" The smile that spread all too quickly across his expression was like a painkiller to the throb of pain that had flashed across her shoulder blades.

"Good. Now you can compare this to your own cooking."

* * *

Sinking twilight was casting lengthening shadows across the alleyways, contrasting ominously with the blood red sunset as Lightning carefully picked her way through the piles of rubbish, eyes set on the chain link fence some fifty yards away. A still smoking cigarette butt was flicked in her direction - kicking it away roughly, she let a scowl cross her features, still resolutely not turning to the source of the flickering light.

"Hey lady, it's not nice to ignore someone who gives you a present, y'know." The hoarse grunt of a voice came from somewhere to her left. The scuffle of shoes and cloth and the flash of movement in her peripheral vision alerted her to the possibility of an attack - tensing, her left boot connected with the figure's sternum as she lashed out to the sudden movement. The subsequent thud of a body on cement was satisfactory in many ways - the man made no move to get up as she finally turned to glare at him under pink bangs.

"Yeah, and some might say it's not nice to attack unprovoked," she growled back, stuffing the empty bag through the loop of her belt and raising her right hand into a fist in case he decided to retaliate anyways. When no sign of an attack came, she strode forwards again, intent on reaching the chain link fence before the sun completely dipped below the ground's surface.

She had relaxed herself a little too much in her confidence that she had impaired him enough to stop pursuit - there was too little warning of the rustle of cloth and leather on cement before a thick arm wrapped itself around her neck.

Fingernails instantly digging into the flesh of the arm, she struggled to throw off the grip that was tightening around her windpipe. _Shit! _The man was both heavier and taller than her, and she knew that if he forced her to the ground the chances of her getting away relatively unharmed would be less than what they were now. The pressure on her lower back increasing, Lightning tried vainly to land a kick in the man's shin. That turned out to be a dire mistake - he was faster and had better reflexes than she'd originally calculated; gripping her ankle, he pulled her left leg out from under her. In her moment of unpreparedness as her body adjusted to the unbalancing, she felt both the man's knees slam her frame into the ground, eliciting a pained cry from the back of her throat. Chin and cheekbones scraping against the rough gravel of the pavement, she curled her fists in preparation for another attempt to throw off the weight now pressed on her shoulders as well as her back.

"Pretty little thing, aren't you?" The hiss beside her right ear sent shocked alarm and disgust through her slender frame as hands ripped at the collar of her shirt. "You're one of Akito's gang, no? What a prize you'll be when I drag you back to _our _hideout. Maybe we'll even pay you for-"

Digging her palms onto the rough surface of the cement, the last unfinished sentence sent adrenaline pounding through her body as those words unconsciously dragged up images of the dying redheaded girl she'd found two weeks before into the forefront of her mind. _No! I'm not... going to end up like that!_ Her right elbow finding contact, she forced that arm back, hard. The snarl of pain was coupled with the release of the right side of her body; dragging herself forwards out from under the remaining weight, Lightning managed to scramble shakily to her feet, noting with satisfaction that in her last ditch attempt to escape, she'd managed to elbow him in the eye.

"You'll have to fucking kill me first!" she spat as he drew level with her, one hand still pressed to his right eye; the rush of adrenaline still driving her, she didn't hesitate to pull the pocketknife hidden down her boot. The blade gleamed dully in the deepening scarlet twilight as the man lunged for her again. The tip of the serrated side found its mark in his face as she dragged the knife up through the skin.

Backing away, Lightning let the man drop to the ground, the crimson liquid staining the dirt on the gravel. It was only then she realized she was panting and covered in cold sweat. _Shit... I was careless... I could have__..._ Feeling anger and disgust consume her thoughts again, her boot found his chest without hesitation, the kick flinging him away from her as she stared at her now incapicitated would-be rapist. Breathing hard, she gripped the bloodstained handle of the knife in her right hand hard, before walking away. "Don't touch me."

Slipping in between the space between two rusted cargo containers, she paused to rearrange the black sleeveless shirt, which had come loose around her shoulders in the scuffle. Her chin and right cheekbone were scraped and bleeding, but it wasn't bad enough to count as something serious. Hastily wiping away the scarlet warmth with one hand, Lightning paused to check that the money stuffed into the rough sack still looped into her belt was where it should be. A sweep of relief washed through her when she saw that it was, along with the odd bills stuffed down her other boot that amounted to some fifty dollars. Her free hand lingered on her throbbing neck, where the man had first gripped her and the knee that had been slammed into the ground - there would no doubt be a mass of discolouring there sometime tomorrow. _I can't worry about that now. This is nothing... compared to what _could_ have happened. _

The cool dimness of the half broken down warehouse felt better on her back when she stepped inside; making her way to Akito's room on the upper level of the building, her left hand clutching the sack as she raised her right to knock.

"Who's there?" The voice was harsh and impatient, and Lightning felt a flicker of nervousness push its way through her frame. _He doesn't sound..._

Taking a steadying breath, raising her hand to wipe away the blood that had collected at the scrapes under her chin again, she hoped her voice didn't sound too pathetic. "It's me."

The rusted door opened after a few moments of silence with a creak, the figure who'd opened the door giving her a nod of assent to continue into the room. Stepping inside wearily, her footsteps sounded too loud against the eerie silence of the room as she took in the sight in front of her. Akito was sitting in his customary chair of sorts, thrown together from bits of scrap metal and ragged cloth scavenged from the garbage heap that wasn't too far from here. There was someone she didn't recognize kneeling... _Kneeling?_ in front of him, face half hidden from her angle of view. She saw Akito give her a quick glance over, taking in the signs of the clear conflict left on her face and neck. If he noticed anything off, or if he was surprised by her apperance, he didn't show it. "Lightning." The repetition of her name wasn't a statement, but a command.

Moving forwards automatically, she reached into the bag to pull out the wad of bills, placing it in his outstretched hand. Her heart suddenly pounding too loudly to feel normal, Lightning cursed herself mentally. She went through this every day - there was absolutely no reason to feel this way, to feel afraid that he would discover that she'd been stealing from him when she'd been doing so for the last four years at the very least. There was silence as thick as fog as he counted the dirty, worn bills... twice. "No trouble, I hope?" he finally inquired wryly, casting her a glance.

Giving one slight shake of her head, Lightning held her breath as his cold brown gaze lingered on the marks that had to have been left by the scuffle on her neck. She was unprepared for the moment he abruptly stood up, towering over the figure kneeling in front of them. For one terrifying, painful moment, she thought his anger was directed at her before the cold, menacing words were delivered to the figure crouched on the ground to her left. "You see? Everyone _else_ does what they're told. Why is it that you can't?" It was the exact same tones he'd used on her when he'd told her she couldn't fail him anymore.

She didn't need his cold glance to know to back away, empty bag clenched tight in trembling fingers. Lightning didn't make it out the door quick enough to see the other figures drop in from the broken window, nor the gleam of several knives caught in the last photons of dying sun. She heard the cry of pain even as she made her way down the cast iron stairs, boots clattering loudly on the rusted joints of the structure.

* * *

Serah sat back in the worn chair, enjoying the unfamiliar, but warm sensation of Snow's arm draped over her shoulders, the comforting gesture edging out the pain the pressure brought to her bruised shoulders. Enjoying the companionable silence, she was somewhat disgruntled when he broke it.

"You doing anything tomorrow?"

Twisting around to glance at him, Serah took a breath before replying. "No," she responded slowly, mauling over the simple one syllable word. "Why?"

"Good, cause there's somewhere else I wanna show you. You haven't been there yet, but I hope you're up for some shopping." Scrutinizing his expectant ocean blue gaze, Serah smiled ruefully, even though the words plucked at her heartstrings. _Shopping... The last time I went... it was with Claire._ Giving a slight shake of her head, Serah forced down those traitorous thoughts. _I just promised I'd continue to try and see things his way._

"That should be okay," she murmured quietly. "I haven't been shopping in awhile, though." She thought her words might offend him, but she was wrong - a half indulgent smile was spreading on Snow's face.

"Excellent," he cackled. "You'll love this then. I've got a surprise for you." Before he could say exactly _what_ the 'surprise' was, the digital clock on the stove in the kitchen beeped. Glancing up swiftly, Serah saw the blocky red numbers that spelled out 9:00 pm glaring across the small apartment.

"Sorry," she apologized quickly. "I have to get home. My uncle will be wondering where I am." Not exactly true on that part - she didn't exactly know if her uncle was going to be home, but she'd imposed on Snow long enough, and if he really _was_ home, her curfew was 9:30.

Snow had stood up with her. "C'mon, I'll walk you."

Shaking her head furiously, Serah gave his large hand a squeeze. "No, don't worry about it! I'll be okay," she replied hastily. He gave her a condescending look as she pulled on the transparent sweeper over the shirt of the school uniform.

"You sure?"

Giving him a faint smile, Serah nodded. "Yes... I'm sure."

_Even though I know he can be trusted... I can't tell him. Even after I promised, I know I'm a pathetic person when I'm scared to tell him that he might hold me up... Because if I'm late..._

Turning away quickly towards the elevator, Serah tried not to let those thoughts show on her face as he waved her goodbye.

_I'm the most selfish person I know._

* * *

Closing the front door quietly behind her, Serah tried to sneak past the bright band of light coming from the kitchen just off the main hall, hoping to make it to the spiral staircase before her footsteps were heard over the clinking of bottles coming from the island counter.

She froze when a glass bottle barely missed her, shattering on the marble tiles of the living room. "Where have you been?" The words were slow, slurred, and almost guttural, but they held the anger and menace that was all too familiar.

"At a friend's." Her own voice was almost inaudible. Stifling the pained squeak as a hand gripped her shoulder, Serah tried not to resist the pull that was determined to turn her around. She found herself facing the merciless amber gaze of her uncle before a stinging slap was delivered to her cheek.

Crashing to the ground on her knees, one hand pressed to the throbbing pain of the left side of her face, her other hand curled into a small, loose fist on the cold marble, finding no purchase on its smooth surface. "D'you have any idea what time it is?" he roared at her, words dripping with unbrindled, alcohol-driven fury. "I'd have thought that worthless sack of muck your sister was might have taught you something! I'd have thought you'd learned a lesson when that ungrateful little wench ran away!" He didn't seem to notice her as the hurtful tirade continued. "What kind of place d'you think she ended up in? She's probably _dead_, if not whoring herself away in some backstreet!" Pulling her up by the collar, Serah found herself staring in his bloodshot, incoherent eyes. "I'd have thought you'd be a little more grateful than _that_!" he spat at her, before throwing her against the stairs, hard. The impact drove the breath from her lungs as her back and side collided painfully with the ridging of the steps, forcing a pained gasp from the back of her raw against the cold surface of the steps, she braced herself for the blow she fully expected to land on her back, but it never came.

Instead, she heard the drunken, sluggish footsteps as he slouched away, slamming the front door behind him. It was a very long time before she found the inner strength to get up to climb the stairs on uncertain, unsteady feet, and it was only then did she realize she was crying, tears leaving hot, wet trails down her cheeks.

It took her a long time to sort out those thoughts and feelings, and a long time for her to realize exactly _why_ she was crying. Cocooned in the soft fabric of the covers, it was only then that the answer came to her.

_It's because... I think he's right about Claire, isn't it?_

As much as she hated herself, as much as her inner heart instantly wanted to deny it, Serah knew that in some twisted, painful way, her uncle was right about her sister. _And it hurts... it hurts to think of her like that. _Her hand brushed something solid and pointy under the fluffy pillow - pulling it out hesitantly, squinting at it in the dim light provided by the small nightlight she kept in her bathroom, she realized it was the crane Snow had made her.

Staring at the paper bird, she clutched it close to her chest with one hand for a moment, fresh tears welling up in her eyes as she quickly tried to wipe them away, giving up when the hurt showed no sign of ceasing to be.

_What I wouldn't give... to be wrong._

* * *

Alone in the moonlight and shadows, crouched in 'her' corner of the warehouse, Lightning waited, her back pressed uncomfortably to the icy surface of the walls. The clattering of footsteps somewhere above her had to stop soon; there was some sort of provocation by another gang and she'd heard the angry mutterings of 'fight' more than once since she'd gotten back. She wasn't disappointed as she tried to keep herself busy until then; fingering around for the rusty tap that was near her, she shoved it on with some effort, holding her hands under the inconsistent icy spray before scrubbing the dried blood and grime off the pocketknife she'd used earlier. As she washed away the dark patterns on the blade, Lightning realized she couldn't block out the sounds and memories of this afternoon.

The scream of pain reverberated in the confines of her mind no matter how hard she tried to push it out. And even that might have been alright if her brain didn't automatically associate it with the sight she'd caught not an hour after she turned in the money to Akito - the bloodstained, lifeless body being flung down the stairs before it was dragged away, leaving nightmarish trails of blood gleaming ominously in the rising moonlight on the dirty cement of the warehouse floor. That memory alone was enough to leave her returning to her spot in the corner until silence consumed the building after everyone else had gone. It was only then that she felt safe to grope for the loose brick in the floor that concealed her hiding place.

It was really an accidental find of hers - she'd found a ragged, worn piece of carpet that had to be better than sleeping on bare stone and as she was dragging it into place, one of the loose threads had caught on something. That something turned out to be a cracked piece that was right next to the loose brick, which she had carefully pried loose after many attempts. Her fingers closed around the edges of it now - it came up with a slight grate of stone-on-stone. Digging her right hand into the hole it concealed, she lifted the burlap bag out of the small opening, noting its weight with quiet satisfaction.

Pulling the bills out of her other boot, Lightning pulled at the opening of the bag that was the result of four long, weary years of saving. Inside was the various stacks of worn and dog eared bills, a yellowing piece of paper, and the shortest stub of a pencil. On any other night, she might have felt satisfied with the addition to her stockpile, but tonight, she only felt sick. Pushing back the urge to throw up at the images and memories that the sight of the money had unconsciously brought up, she tried to concentrate on adding the amount that she'd managed to take today to the amount she already had.

It was harder than it had to be - the sack in front of her only pulled up the memories and thoughts that her mind was unable to let go of: what exactly would happen to her if Akito ever found out what she was doing. Trying to control the irrational fears and feelings, Lightning took a breath. _I'm not going to be that stupid. I'm not going to be the idiot that guy was. I can't be._

The final amount that she was finally able to coherently add up calmed her a bit as she shoved the money back into the burlap before carefully replacing the loose brick and then pressing down on it with her boot. Totalling just a few hundred over ten thousand dollars, she glanced up at the moonlight that peeked through the spaces where the roofing tiles had fallen off; the sight gave her a twisted sense of peace as she clenched both hands into fists at her sides.

_Just... a little more to go._

* * *

**So, well then... Huh, I think I'll leave all interpretation of that up to you - while I think most of it speaks for itself, I don't want to "kill the mood", so to say, of this chapter. I'm the first to admit this is for sure one of the heavier chapters, but rest assured, the next chappy will for sure lighten the mood a little! **

**Speaking of the next chapter, I don't think it'll be up before the weekend - I'm quite busy for the rest of this week, sorry! D: Leave love as always, and I'll see you guys soon!**

**Hearts!**


	12. As Life Goes On

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_  
**

**Oh my gosh... you have _no_ idea how long and hard I struggled with this chapter. I don't even know why it was so difficult; I thought it was going to be straightforward enough, but no... apparently not. I just could never get Serah and Snow to sound right; it took me so many tries... so I do apologize. *hangs head* I still don't know what exactly about the chapter ahead got to me like it did, and it definitely wasn't for the lack of trying - _Revenant Wings'_s first three chapters came out infinitely easier in while I was struggling with this, even though Hope and Lightning are just as hard sometimes to get right, especially a Lightning who...  
**

**Urgh, anyways, I'll shut up about that now - my love for my supporters is eternal: FalconTytus, GKMader, and Mylaervain! You guys are awesome.**

**Enjoy as always!**

* * *

Chapter 12: As Life Goes On

_"No matter how strong or how brave you are, no one can survive by themselves.  
That's why our connections with people are so important, because they make us who we are." _―Serah Farron_  
_

"Seraaaaaah!" A loud shout outside her window jerked Serah awake from the depths of sleep, chasing away the last remnants of the dream she thought she was having. The funny thing was, she didn't feel disturbed at all in any way - even though she couldn't quite remember what the dream had been about, she had a feeling it hadn't been a _bad_ dream. _Why... can't I remember?_

But the more she tried to hold onto its lingering fingers, the more quickly it slid away from her, like trying to cup water in dripping fingers. "_Serah!_ Are you coming or not?" The loud, repeated shout made her throw the covers off of her slim body and jump down on the ground, toes brushing the cold smooth surface of the wooden paneling on the floor. Quickly making her way to the window, she poked her head out, simultaneously undoing the messy hair that was still tangled in the sparkly hair tie, letting the long pink locks blow freely in the breeze.

"Sorry!" Covering her mouth with the back of her hand as she observed Snow's disgruntled expression, she felt a smile beginning to spread underneath the slim fingers pressed to her lips. _With him... I feel happier before I even know why. That's... how much he's changed who I am... I don't hide in the back of classes, hoping to slip by unnoticed anymore. I... As selfish as it sounds, I want to feel happy too... and Snow, he taught me that that was okay. _"I'm coming, I'm coming! Give me a few moments."

Snow glared up at her, mock anger on his face as he held a hand to shield his eyes from the already bright morning sun. "Don't be too long," he grumbled quietly. Serah noticed that his voice was stern, but were undeniably betrayed by the amused look in his ocean blue eyes. "We don't have all the time in the world, y'know."

As she padded away from the open window, going over to the closet to dig for something suitable, Serah tried not to let those last words worm their way into her mind. _I know... we don't have all the time we could want._

_But... I'd give anything for that to be true.  
_

* * *

The bustle and noise of the mall was strangely unfamiliar as Serah hesitantly took a few steps after Snow into the alien world of marble and lights, one that she was all too unused to. "So," he began. "Where d'you want to go see?"

Shuffling her feet awkwardly, Serah looked at her toes. "I don't know... it doesn't really matter. Whatever you want."

He laughed before clapping her on the back. "I'd spend all day looking at velocycles, which I am quite sure you _don't_ want. So, gimme an idea, alright? Anything you like in particular?"

Looking away at one of the glass skylights that decorated the mall's rooftop, Serah suppressed a quiet sigh. _I don't know... I don't know. I haven't... There's been nothing that I've wanted, nothing I've been interested in since before Claire left..._ "I don't know," she finally repeated truthfully, afraid to look at him. She found herself looking into the unusually expectant ocean blue gaze of Snow.

"C'mon. There's gotta be _something_ that you like. You're not a piece of paper, right?"

_No... but I wish... How can I tell him that there's nothing I'm interested in because nothing in my life leaves enough space to escape? How can I tell him there's nothing I like because there's no room to think about anything else?_ Despite her surroundings, Serah felt the first pricklings of tears begin to stab behind her eyes.

"Hey..." A rough thumb brushed at her cheek. "Didn't mean to offend you."

Shaking her head vigorously, Serah looked up. "No, I'm sorry... I didn't mean..." Forcing herself to sound cheerful and unbothered, she gently tugged at his thick arm. "Come on, why don't you give me a tour? Maybe I'll find something that way."

When Snow made no comment, simply pulling her along with a renewed grin, Serah tried to push down her irrational erratic breathing, and focus on the present. _I shouldn't've reached that way... I know... I know he said he was alright with what came with me, but... when will it be too much? When will everything that's dragging at me drag him down too?_

She didn't think she could stand the thought that she could ruin his life for him too.

* * *

But it was a surprisingly short while later that she found that something _did,_ in fact, catch her eye. And it was a surprisingly short space of only several heartbeats before Snow noticed what she was looking at - before she could even say something, Snow had strode the small distance between them and it, giving it a critical look.

"So, you like this?"

She'd been about to deny it, when Serah realized there was no point - Snow was too observant for his own good, and way too observant for hers. _And sometimes, that's a good thing... _She didn't think she was ignoring the stab of guilt that pulled at her when she realized why she could think it wouldn't be something good. _I'm... _"Well... yes," she admitted quietly, almost _embarrassedly, _afraid to look at him and afraid of his reaction. "But..."

Serah cut herself off when he passed her the small cardboard backing of the pair of silver earrings. Running her fingers over the smoothness of the metal, her touch lingered on the delicate shape of the cats' heads and the smooth curve of the tails that were left free to dangle from their metal bodies, silently admiring the way the crystals at their very tips sparkled in the light when they moved. "But my ears aren't pierced," she finished quietly, hoping that would abate his interest.

"So get them pierced," he countered matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious solution in the world. Looking up sharply in surprise at his response, Serah felt the words pile at the back of her throat.

"W-what? But-"

He stopped her with a hand to the shoulder. "Ah ah... no buts. Seriously, Serah, you make it sound like a crime, which it's not."

Scuffling her shoes again, she looked away from him and back to the silver cats lying in her palm. "I know it's not... but still..."

"Your folks gonna be against it or something? C'mon, Serah, you're eighteen, well old enough to make your own choices. Besides, it's not like you're piercing your nose or something... practically everyone has their ears pierced."

She didn't think she could ever say why she felt such reservations clutched at her heart at the thought. _There aren't enough words in this world... to say how much I want to and how much my instincts and thoughts are holding me back. _It was stupid, really - no one had ever told her she _couldn't_, and quite frankly, she doubted her uncle would _care_ if she did.

_Would it be... silly of me to say that I don't want to... because there's some part of me that wants, still, to be a child, protected and loved? That if I got this done, I'd be an adult that has to make her own choices, decide her own fate? _There was undoubtedly a part of her that wanted to seize her own future, hold them up in outstretched hands, and enjoy what would be, but there was also a part of her that didn't want to let go of the foolish illusion that, as a child, she would be eternally protected and loved without an expectation for reciprocation. _There's a part of me that's unwilling to let go of the dream that's always chased me... that this, all of this, could be erased if I were loved... _Loved_, not betrayed, not abandoned. Loved. And who... who won't love a_ _child? _

Her fingers had found his without reproach. "You think so?" she asked quietly, hating how demure and uncertain her voice sounded.

He laughed, clapping the back of his hand to his head. "Serah, I know so."

* * *

It was neither as painful as she expected it to be, nor was the experience as diminishing as she had touted it to be. And the funny thing was, afterwards, she felt buoyantly at ease . Any regrets or second thoughts about the experience she might have had were dropped from her like heavy chains blown away by the flap of powerful wings as she leaned against the glass of the golden sunset, aided by Snow's powerful grip.

"Not that bad, eh?" he asked her, looking triumphantly content as they unconsciously joined hands.

"No," she agreed, "It wasn't bad."

She felt his free hand brush the tail of the cat now dangling from her left ear. "See? Told you so. It looks... nice on you." He looked slightly abashed to be saying it, almost embarrassed himself, something Serah knew he never was.

Looking at him with her sapphire blue gaze, she tucked a stray strand of cherry coloured hair behind her ear, carefully aware of the cardboard bag she carried in that hand. "You know... you didn't have to buy it for me."

His fingers tightened on hers. "I didn't," he asserted quietly. "But I did. So, no arguments, aight? It's the least I can do - Serah, you've got no idea how much you've changed who I am, in these last few months."

The ghost of a rueful smile pulled at her lips as she looked up again, ignoring the small throbbing pain that stabbed at both ears. "Thank you."

_And you... you have no idea how much you've changed mine. You have no idea how much you've changed not just the course of my life, but who I am, even how I think and how I feel. _

_So no... I can never thank you enough - these two deceptively simple words are meant for so much more than just a pair of earrings._

* * *

**Alright, so, that was definitely shorter than my other chapters, and there actually _was_ a 'second half' to this chapter, but I like how I ended it there, so let's just leave it at that. n_n Besides, my headache is starting again, and as the second half was rather weighty and involved some good thinking about diction and setting, I decided to leave it at that, which means that Chapter 13 will now be longer than originally intended, or I might just leave the original Chapter 13 to Chapter 14...  
**

**I'm rambling now, so I'll stop. Leave love as always, and I'll see you guys soon!  
**

**Hearts!  
**


	13. Iron and Steel

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of Unwritten! (:  
**

**Omigosh... I feel so ashamed this chapter took me so long to get out. I don't even... Yeah. Let's just leave it at that. *hides in a corner* Thanks to Berl, rain0205, GKMader, and FalconTytus for being so patient and being as awesome as you've been!  
And so, since I kept this chapter from y'all for so long, here it is.  
**

**Enjoy as always!**

* * *

Chapter 13: Iron and Steel

_"The concept of free will is funny; the more freedom and the more liberty I think I have, the more things that tie me down.  
And so I ask myself... what does 'freedom' mean? What will it mean when I'm finally able to let it all go?" _―Lightning_  
_

Red fingers of sunset stretched their way across Eden's concrete and cement streets and buildings as Serah walked side by side with Snow in companionable silence, the tips of their fingers barely meeting. A softer smile stretching thin lips, she tried to keep her breathing controlled and even, but things didn't work that way - the bubble that swelled inside felt too big to contain; a mix of happiness and relief, it was harder to keep in than pain. _It's... it's different. I thought that despair and loneliness would be the one thing that defined my life, but it looks like... I was wrong. Because, there _can_ be happiness - as temporary as this is, I'll take it. I'll take what I can from it... and hope that in the face of what's yet to come, it'll give me the strength I need to keep going._

_If nothing else... it'll be memories of happier times... a reminder I want to keep with me, always.  
_

The streets were emptier than usual, and Snow's light grip on her hands relaxed a little. "I forgot," he sighed happily. "There's this big concert at the other end of town today, so there's not a lot of people around here right now. That's good; I don't wanna fight through crowds and stuff."

Serah let out a soft hum. "That's good, right?"

He scratched his head absent-mindedly. "Yeah, it's good. Means it'll be quiet round here for once."

Long, sinking shadows began to play with the scarlet tinted lighting as they made their way in silence back to the street that would lead them to their suburb. Night had almost completely fallen - the harsh orange light had already begun to permeate the streets when something other than the quiet bustle of almost empty streets sounded just up ahead.

Immediately, Serah felt Snow tense beside her - he held out an arm to stop her movements as they both peered down the intersection to a seemingly lifeless street just up ahead. She felt every muscle in her body tense when the unmistakable sound of combat echoed across the concrete buildings and streets.

"Shit," she heard Snow curse quietly. "We've gotta go that way."

Half hidden by his bulk, Serah found herself clinging to the back of his trench coat. "What is it?"

She heard him grit his teeth. "Police and army are all on the other side of town tonight. And when they're gone, gangs and other people, like drug lords, come out onto the open street because it's not policed anymore. Shit," he repeated. "We shouldn't've gone this way, Serah - I'm sorry."

"No! You didn't know... people would be here," she appeased quickly, shaking her head. "D'you think we can make it past them... or do we have to wait?"

"I don't know," he growled. "Most of them keep to themselves, but... I don't wanna waltz in there, y'know? They could be drunk, and if that's the case, I don't know if it's safe."

Biting her lip, Serah cast another glance past Snow's big form down the street. "It doesn't look... There doesn't seem to be too many people," she ventured hesitantly. From her vantage point, she could only make out two silhouettes by the glare of a streetlight about halfway down the street. It was the only movement she could see.

Snow turned back to her. "Yeah, I know. But with you... I don't want to take any chances." His large, gloved fingers held onto hers. "We'll try going this way... But. At the first sign of danger, _run_. Got it?"

Nodding wordlessly, she let him lead her down the empty street. Heart hammering in her throat, Serah found Snow's grip strangely relaxing. _Like he's someone to hold on to._ And maybe he was - whatever it was, she was grateful for it. The sounds of the fight became louder as they cautiously made their way down the paved cement road.

When a familiar low snarl reached her eardrums, Serah froze, feeling as if every drop of blood in her body had turned to ice. _No... No!_

* * *

Gripping the shirt of the man who'd stumbled, intoxicated, out of Fang's bar, Lightning slammed him against the outer wall of the building, knowing the streets were empty and that the police, for all the little work they did, were occupied at the other end of town. "Get your hands off me," she snarled, trying to put as much venom in her voice as possible. The bastard had made a grab for her the moment _she_ left Fang's usual at the back of the bar. Instantly feeling anger choke through her cloaked desperation and fear, she'd retaliated instantly. The fate of the man who'd disobeyed Akito still heavy in her mind, she _couldn't_ let that happen to her before...

The man made a wild lunge at her face; ducking, she sank a boot into his stomach. Cackling, the drunk made another wild grab at her ankle; this time, successfully gripping the leather of the boot in his rough hands. "Not so confident now, are we, bitch?"

Tensing, it only took her a second to realize how incredibly vulnerable this position was. Right leg hoisted up at almost waist level, Lightning realized with a curl of dread that he could easily throw her against something - or snap her ankle, should he feel so inclined to. _Shit... Shit!_

Thinking fast, she forced her leg towards him again, the heel of the footwear digging into the base of his throat. He let go of her with a rough howl of pain; livid anger lighting up his drunken gaze, he pulled out a trench knife underneath his coat. Swallowing, Lightning knew he could _not_ be allowed to fully use it on her - whatever fighting skills she may have possessed, she was powerless against an obviously ill-gotten army weapon. The blade gleamed dully in the insufficient light cast by the street lamps, reminding her of her own knife currently stuck down her boot. She didn't have time to get it - he'd get the blade in her back the moment she bent down to reach for it. _Think._

She had to get the weapon away from him. Somehow.

For once, she was glad that the alcohol was slowing him down. Sure, it made him unpredictable, but... _But unpredictable, I can deal with. What I can't deal with right now is someone who's in full control of his cognitive abilities and actually knows how to use the weapon he's holding._

The man must have been drunker than she thought, because he took the moment she used to analyze him to throw the knife at her head. _How stupid..._

But she wasn't going to complain; gripping its handle from where the knife had buried itself into the brick just beside her shoulder, she lunged for him in his attempt to escape. They were in full view of the street now, but she didn't care. Pinning him to the wall with one fist again, she held the knife in tight fingers. "Get the hell away from me," she repeated.

"Or what?"

Disgust rising at the back of her throat at the cockiness that the voice still held, she didn't hesitate to reply, raising the knife to shoulder height. "Or I will fucking kill you."

Dropping him, she watched him squirm away from her, disappearing down the alleyway across the empty street.

And that was when she heard a hoarse intake of breath somewhere just behind her.

* * *

Serah stood, frozen in shock and fear, as she watched her sister raise the knife to shoulder height. _"Or I will fucking kill you." _For some reason, that line cut into her more than anything else her sister had said. And right now, she could imagine it, as much as it horrified and scared her. _I know... she means it._

"Serah, what-" Gripping Snow's arm tightly, she buried her head against his shoulder. "What's wrong?" There was a note of real fear in his voice now. _Please... just take me home. I can't explain to you right now..._

And this time, a different voice, but one that was just as familiar, spoke her name. "Serah..."

She felt Snow tense; hands pulling her from him, she found Snow looking at her with an unreadable expression. _Is it really unreadable... or am I just scared of what he's thinking?_ She could find confusion, shock, and horror in that familiar ocean blue gaze, and something else she couldn't place. And that, precisely, was what she was scared of. _Does he think... I betrayed him?_ He shook her roughly. "Serah, how d'you know... Who is this?"

To her sister's eternal credit, she stayed silent, watching them as Snow gripped her forearms in his hands. "Serah, what-?"

Turning away from him, wrenching her hands free, Serah moved to face her sister, trying not to looked at the jagged edge of the knife Claire still held in one hand. Trying to control her breathing was impossible - the rising storm of emotions was coming and she knew it. _And I know... just as well, that I can't control it. I just... can't. _"Why?" she burst out, feeling the first familiar, painful pricklings of tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "Claire, why are you doing this? Why can't you just come home?"

Through her now slightly hazy vision, she saw her sister flinch, before something unrecognizable hardened her expression. "It's not... _Claire_," she hissed slowly. "That's not my name anymore."

Slowly, Serah took a step forward, watching as her sister tensed and raised the weapon in her hand ever so slightly. "Changing your name... doesn't change who you are. You're still..."

She couldn't say it. _Because... I can't apply that term to her anymore. I can't._ That realization hurt.

A rough, warm hand rested on her right shoulder, tightening around it, preventing her from taking another step in her sister's direction. Giving up on trying to fight Snow's firm grip, she noticed a flicker of something cross her sister's expression for perhaps a heartbeat; it pulled at something inside even though she couldn't fully grasp what it was.

"It's _Lightning_," came the quiet hiss, before the slender figure before them whipped around and disappeared into the alleyway she'd emerged from. Unable to fight back against that emotional backlash, Serah found herself sinking to the ground, clutching at her chest as though the grip would make the inner pain go away.

"Serah, who...?"

Snow's rough voice reminded her as to where she was.

And then, suddenly, she was running.

It wasn't until her feet were taking her in the direction of the park in the city centre did Serah come to terms with exactly why she was running away.

_Because he can't know. I can't intertwine him with my past... because once he's in, he's not coming out. _

She wished that were the only reason she was running, but Serah knew there was another, one that hurt just as much. _For the first time... I'm seeing Claire... no, _Lightning..._ as wh__at she's become. And that's..._

_That's something I don't ever want to face again._

* * *

**So wow... this chapter took me all of two weeks to write. And it didn't even turn out to be that long, but wow. Serah. I felt like bashing something with a stick, because I tried to get this right without revealing too much and ARGH. *rips out hair*  
**

**Anyways. Yeah. *coughs lightly* I hope I did okay.  
**

**I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that Chapter 14 won't be hell for me... because we're quickly approaching the climax of the story, and yeah. *doesn't want to think about it* Anyways, leave love as always and I'll see you all soon! :D  
**

**Hearts!  
**


	14. Pearls

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_**

**__Thank yous go to Mylaervain, arrancarstar, and GKMader! You guys are awesome (but you already knew that)! This chapter was surprisingly easy to get out, which is honestly a huge relief, truth be told. n_n My big inspiration for this chapter was definitely the _Mahou Shoujou Madoka Magica_ soundtrack - so many of the pieces suited this chapter so well! o3o  
**

**Enjoy as always!**

* * *

Chapter 14: Pearls

"_I couldn't face my past. I couldn't be strong, and let it all out. But the sad thing was… no matter how much confidence he instilled in me, no matter how much he told me to believe in myself, there would always be a part of me that would always be afraid." _– Serah Farron

It was a very, very long time before she stopped running. Not because she thought she'd finally found somewhere that would calm her, but because she had pushed her body to the absolute limit. A stabbing stitch in one side and her uneven, erratic gasps of breath told her she had to stop. Feet finally slowing, night air rushing in on the sweaty streaks left by her desperate flight; it was a few minutes before Serah recognized where she was.

The park was silent around her, the only sound of company the chirping of crickets somewhere in the lush trees. Tentatively taking a few hesitant steps at a time, she made out the dim glow of the bronze crane statue, illuminated by the harsh orange light of the dim streetlamps and the buzz of a few fireflies. Finding the stone bench next to it surprisingly calming, she sat there, hands twisted in her lap as her mind replayed the last thirty minutes on fast forward.

And it was surprising, because when she dug inside, she felt no outright _hate_, the emotion she would've thought she would automatically dredge up, towards her sister. It wasn't hate. And to her surprise, it wasn't even _anger_, in the sense of the word. _More like… confusion?_ Serah wasn't quite sure of the term she wanted. _Because… how can I hate her, judge her, when I've been doing the exact same thing to him?_ Selfish, perhaps, but she had a reason for deceiving Snow. And for the first time, watching her sister in what could have very well been her death; Serah realized that, perhaps… _Maybe she had a reason, too. One that wasn't simply to get away from everything._

Suddenly standing, wrapping her hands around her arms, she found herself pacing, despite the exhaustion that still clung to her after her frantic, panicked escape. _No… I'm overthinking things now. If she really left for some other reason, why couldn't she tell me? I was old enough to know! If it wasn't abandoning me, why couldn't she tell me? _

Shaking her head as if to dislodge those thoughts, her sneaker scuffed a fallen blossom on the rough pavement, the sound sounding alien in the quiet park. Taking a breath, her hands unconsciously placed themselves on the smooth metal of the statue. _If she didn't do it because she was running away… then I have to know. _She still wasn't sure what had conjured this new perception of her sister, but something inside had snapped the moment she watched her fight the stranger whose intent was no doubt to hurt her. _She woudn't've… Claire isn't stupid. That wouldn't be… No. Just… no._ The sudden realization hadn't been obvious, hadn't crowded her consciousness until later, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. _Because Claire would've never willingly wanted that. _And maybe, that had been it – the thing that spoke to the feelings long since buried in resentment and fear: that no one would have willingly wanted a life like that.

She didn't know what it was – and now, it didn't really matter. _Because… whatever it is, I'm going to find out. For sure. Figure out exactly why she left… and figure out if I can't bring her home. _Funnily enough, or perhaps it had been something she'd known but ignored all along, the thought was empowering, not something she wanted to cast away and hide from the rest of the world.

_But to do that…_ It was like her earlier, brief determination had been nothing but a calm before the storm. _I'll need Snow's help_, she realized, perhaps too late. _And I ran away… before he could ask me, _because_ I was afraid of him asking me. Because Claire was too much a part of my past… I didn't know… I didn't know…_

Fingers gripping her arms tighter now, Serah felt herself sinking back onto the bench, a new, different type of pain pervading her consciousness, twisting with indecision. _Do I tell him… or no?_ The rational part of her screamed at her not to – and she knew as well as anyone the consequences if someone knew too much of her personal life; and the other half? Her other half, the one that was directly in tune with her emotions, told her she couldn't continue to hide things from him, not after everything he'd done for her. _And that much… is true. I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't be who I am… without him._

A faint shout in the distance made her decision for her – even from here, the concern in Snow's tone was evident in his repeated shouts of her name.

_I… I can't ruin his life. I can't. He deserves to be happy, he deserves to be happy… and I'll just be more selfish if I take that away from him._

His thumping footsteps growing louder in the silence of the park, it was perhaps fifteen minutes later that he spotted her, sitting in the small circle of light provided by the nearest streetlamp. Looking up, just once, she saw his flustered, sweaty expression that instantly morphed into one of relief. That expression sent an instantaneous tear of pain pounding through her bloodstream. _It's… it's _because_ he cares… that I can't tell him._

"Serah!" He was standing in front of her not two seconds later, gazing down with an unreadable expression, before gripping her shoulders in a rough grasp. "I – Goddammit, don't run off like that next time!" Squatting down so that they were eye to eye, his tone softened considerably as his hands slid down to grip her hands. "Serah… who was that?"

Wrenching her head to one side, Serah tried to avoid looking at him. _Please don't… Just… please, don't keep asking me. _

"Serah…" There was an odd insistency in Snow's tone now. "Please?"

Unable to look at him in the eye, she shrugged his grip off her hands and turned, ready to get up to go. _Before I have to explain myself, before I drag someone else into all this._ It wasn't so much the need to _go_ but to _escape_. She was painfully aware that she didn't _have_ to hide anything from him, painfully aware that she _knew_ he meant no harm – she _knew_ he cared! But as selfish as it was, as selfish as she'd let herself become, Serah knew that certain things… just weren't meant to be said. _And maybe, I'm wrong, in not telling him. Maybe it's not the right thing to do._ _But… I'm tired of thinking about the right thing to do. Maybe going to look for Claire isn't the right thing to do either… but it doesn't matter. Because, at this moment, what _feels_ right to me… is not telling him. It doesn't matter… if it doesn't make sense._

"Serah! Who _was_ that?"

Hastily wiping at the collected liquid warmth at the corners of her eyes, for the first time since she'd known him, Serah pushed Snow away from her, before slipping through the small space between the bench and his warmth, intent on the concept of 'away'. Pausing just at the edge of the small sanctuary of light provided by the small lamp that was placed near the, she glanced back, just once, the tears falling thickly now, like the beads of a pearl necklace never meant to be strung back together again.

"No one… No one that you need to know." _Please._

* * *

**A shorter chapter than I'm used to writing for sure, but I hit all the points I wanted to in this chapter, and I was afraid that expanding on this scene would take away from the emotional impact I _hope_ this scene delivers, so I'll leave it at that. n_n**

**As I said last chapter, we are quickly approaching the climax to this fic - there aren't _that_ many chapters left, so things are going to start happening rapidly starting next chapter. Since I know what's going to happen next chapter, Chapter 15 probably won't take me _that_ long - expect it sometime next week? :3 Leave love as always, and I'll see you guys soon!  
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**Hearts!  
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	15. Gradus Prohibitus

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten_!  
**

**It's been awhile since I updated, but the laptop that contained most of this chapter—and the story outlines for the remaining plot—was in commission for awhile. Luckily, I had someone who knew how to fix it, and he tried to work on it as fast as possible, so here it is! (:  
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**Thanks and love go to Seeker of the Skies, Guest (and yes, for sure—part of the reason I wanted to write this story to begin with was that I knew stuff like that happened out here in the real world), rain0205, and GKmader! You guys rock, seriously and I really apologize for the fact that this chapter is so incredibly late. ._.  
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**I'm really digging it with the Latin chapter titles these days—seriously, I think I've had three Lating titles for my other story _Revenant Wings_ in the last few updates, and I thought "what a shame, why not continue the tradition?" For those who don't understand Latin, the title of this chapter translates as "Forbidden Steps" but I thought the Latin title sounded much cooler than the English one. n_n  
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**Enjoy as always!**

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Chapter 15: Gradus Prohibitus

_"What was funny was that in the moment I knew would be coming, the moment that I had been dreading, came as not a destroyer, but as a creator.  
In my world, where there was no beginning nor and end, there was creation. The creation of a path to someplace I hadn't been before, but a place I was all too happy to embrace-like the tomorrow that promised to be better than the 'today'." _—Serah Farron

She hadn't expected him to follow her, but he did. Thumping footsteps with a pace much longer than hers, it didn't take Snow long to catch up to her. A rough hand gripped her shoulder, pulling her back, stopping her from moving forward into the 'away' that she wanted. _Let go… just let go of me. _"Serah." There was a firm, knowing tone in his voice. "Look, you can't just drop the 'I've got a secret' bomb on someone like that. I can tell it's _not_ okay and it's _not_ something that you should have to deal with."

_Please don't hate me for this._

"What do you know?" Turning around, the words burst from her mouth before she could control the tone in them. "Snow, how could you possibly know? I—" Firm hands rested on both her shoulders this time, stopping the shaking sobs, stopping her from tipping forward or falling backwards.

"Look. Serah. I know you've got stuff that you haven't told me. And I'm cool with that—some things are meant to be kept to yourself. But it's not okay—it crosses the boundary—when it makes you this upset. When something secret makes you this upset, it doesn't make it right anymore. It just proves that you need to let it out." A pleading, gentler tone had entered his voice. "So… can you tell me?"

Trying to fight his grip was absolutely futile. But Serah could no longer deny it—his steady warmth, the support that he was providing for her at this very moment was overwhelming, but not in a bad way. It reminded her that there were people out there that wanted to protect her… _That there're people out there that I mean something to. But how can I explain? _

It wasn't that he _didn't deserve_her trust—Snow had done nothing but prove himself to her over and over—it was that she _couldn't_ tell him. _I can't ruin someone else's life. No matter what. Going to find Claire is _my_ decision. No one else's. That's why… That's why he can't know. _"I…"

He heaved a dramatic sigh. "Serah… d'you trust me? If it's something bad, it's not like I'm gonna shout it to the whole world, y'know. And if it's something that's bothering you, I'll help you deal with it. Does that sound fair?"

It did— but it wouldn't be worth it if he got involved with something that was too complex for him to get out of. Slowly raising her head up to finally, finally look at his intent ocean blue gaze. She could find no trace of lies, of deceit in that calm expression, and a new sense of despair gripped her. _You could do so much better than me. Snow, you deserve someone who can actually… You deserve someone who isn't afraid of the truth, who isn't afraid of what other people think about her. _

Trying to keep her breathing steady and controlled, she tried opening her mouth—but the words wouldn't come. _I can't do it… I just can't._ A quiet whimper escaping her lips, Snow's grip on her shoulders tightened. _Please don't… _

"Serah…"

Swallowing, she tried again; emotions warring with cognitive reasoning, she no longer had any idea what to do. _Please… I want someone to tell me what the right thing to do is… because I don't know anymore. _"Claire…" The name slipped out all on its own, but Serah no longer had any control over that. _I want her to be here to tell me what the right thing to do is—You were always telling me what you thought I should do, right? Why can't you be here now, to tell me? _

Squeezing her eyes shut, there was a rush of gratitude towards Snow for staying silent, for allowing her to take her time. _But right now, I know… I know that even if I stood here, thinking, for the next hundred years, I couldn't… I wouldn't be able to figure out what the right thing to do is. Because how can I choose? _

"Snow… I…" Those two syllables finally slipped past her throat after a few very, very long moments of silence, ones that could've stretched on for the rest of eternity. "I want to tell you," she finally rasped out, throat hoarse and raw. "But I'm not ready yet… I don't know, I don't know…" She was afraid to look at him, afraid for the rebuke she was so sure would come.

A warm hand grazed by her cheek, wiping away the collected liquid there, lingering for just the fraction of a moment on her neck. "It's okay. So long as you know I want to listen, we're good." He managed a weak smile, before rubbing his stubbly chin. Gently folding an arm around her shoulders, he steered her in the direction of home. "C'mon, it's late. I'll walk you home."

The relief at his answer was eaten by a wave of ice cold fear; Serah knew all too well that she'd been out late—too late—for her uncle's liking, and if Snow walked her home… "No." She tried to make her voice firm but lighthearted. "You don't need to… I'll be fine." Trying to muster a weak, watery smile, she wasn't reassured nor comforted when he gave her one in return.

"You kidding me? It's late. It's dangerous, as we just saw. So no. I'm taking you to your doorstep."

"But—"

"But nothing," he said firmly. "I don't think you're the fighter she was back there, and what if one of those drunken idiots caught up to you somewhere on the streets? Nah, Serah, I'm not taking that kinda chance with you, got it?"

The dim reference to her sister pulled at her chest, but it was nothing compared to the icy numbness stealing over her consciousness like winter wind. Serah felt as though she was stumbling beside him in a daze; wrapped in her own consciousness, it was like everything apart from her imminent fears had been shut out. The world around her—the world as she knew it—felt like it was collapsing around her, folding in on itself like a universe that had been consumed by how large it had grown. _It can't… I can't… _

But she knew she was helpless to stop it—just like the paper boat that was pushed downstream by a raging river, there was no going back. The water would not return to its source, just as she would not return to a sanctuary. And somehow, somehow, she _knew_ it would be _pointless _to stop it: fate's chains weren't meant to be struggled against—they were something that was meant to be accepted.

_But I can't… I don't…_ They were growing closer to the one house on the street that still had lit lights in its windows—her own.

Distant footsteps that belonged to her and him felt like light years away—they were indistinct and held no bearing next to the wild thumping of her heart. Snow hadn't questioned her silence—perhaps he was giving her the time she so desperately needed to think through his offer. And yet, she knew that time was running out: every single step she took closer to her home was time that slipped away from that upper bulb of the hourglass. The world outside of her fears felt like a candle next to the sun; nothing would help her, no amount of water would put out the burning that was fear and dread.

The moment her foot brushed the worn stone of the top step of the stairs that led up to the front door, the wooden plane was pulled open; light slicing across the dark lawn like a blade, Serah looked up into the drunken brown eyes of her uncle. Snow's steady breathing just behind her couldn't calm the whimper of fear from her lips, but what she didn't know was that he'd tensed behind her, perhaps already having read the body language of the man just in front of them.

A rough hand seized her shoulder. "Where have you been, girl? D'you know what time it is?" The words were angry, bitter, and dulled by alcohol. "You gonna end up like your sister now, the useless sack of muck that she was? Gonna run away from me?"

Unconsciously pressing back against Snow, feeling her accelerated heartbeat shut out everything but those words, a different hand closed around her shoulder. And strangely, right now, in the face of the moment that had been building for so very long, she felt dazed and oddly removed from the situation, as though she was watching someone else. Because right now, her mind wasn't concentrating on finding an answer as to appease both Snow and her uncle; it was dwelling on the fact that her uncle's composure was slipping. Because right now, his secrets were just as exposed as her own—there would be no way he was going to get out of this one without something happening: Snow had probably deduced so much from the current situation that he couldn't be far from the truth at all.

And oddly, the words spoken around her were like an angry whirlwind—she could feel the emotions, the thoughts behind them, but each word was indistinct, as though they'd been spoken to her decades ago and only vestiges of them remained. She knew exactly the gist of the words, exactly what the sharp sentences were about, but she couldn't understand them. The syllables and sounds flowed around her like unrecognizable birds, each grazing her with the gentle flutter of wings before moving on to a distant realm she couldn't see.

Sharp pain in her shoulder brought that dazed, otherworldly existence crashing down around her; reality was beginning to sink in once more as firm hands pulled her back. "The fuck is your problem?" she heard Snow shout.

She could hear properly again.

"Who d'you think you are?" Slowly coming to grips with her surroundings, Serah realized that Snow still had one arm pulled around her shoulders, but she was definitely pulled back from her uncle. Gazing up into the cold, foreign brown eyes, she knew no one was there—her uncle wasn't himself tonight, but it was him, not her, that would pay the price.

For his carelessness, he'd exposed the secret he'd told her to hide.

"Someone who cares about her, that's who," she heard Snow snarl back. "Clearly something that doesn't happen around here." She'd never heard him like this. Because this… this wasn't the bumbling, carefree side that Snow presented to her. This was something else, like… _Like the way Claire spoke. _"You're going to stay away from her," he hissed. Pulling her by the arm, Snow had her off the steps and out of reach of her uncle in a few seconds.

And once again, Serah had no one but the Maker to thank that she'd come home on this night, a night in which her uncle was hopelessly inebriated, because he hadn't been able to put the pieces of the puzzle together in a coherent way that would stop this from slipping out of control. She cast one glance back—just one.

Her uncle was clinging to the side of the doorframe in his drunken fervour, unable to grasp the gravity of the situation as Snow led her away from the situation that might have spelled doom on any other night.

The dazed sense of unreality was back.

As though walking in a dream, she couldn't hear the words that he was saying, couldn't understand the syllables being spoken. The only thing Serah could understand right now was that by some twisted, almost illogical whim of fate, the scenario that she had for so long dread hadn't come to pass… and would never come to pass.

It wasn't until she was safely seated on the couch in Snow's apartment, with his intent ocean blue eyes fixed on her tearstained expression and his large hands resting on both her shoulders did her sense of reality return.

"Serah." His voice was low, controlled, and she could tell he was fighting to keep his temper. "Was that the creep you were living with? Your uncle?" Afraid of that tone in his voice, and afraid of what yet might still come to be, she nodded.

There was no more need for pretense now, no need to continue to hide and cower behind a sunny smile because he had to know. If he didn't, he had to be close to the truth.

But when Snow spoke again, there was an odd note of strain in it, a pain she'd never heard in it before. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? You wouldn't've had to… _Shit_, Serah, why?"

Biting the inside of her lip, and afraid of the tone in his voice, she felt the warmth of tears on her cheeks again; as one fell, it created the path for more. There was a long silence in which she could hear only her own heartbeat and breathing, a silence compounded by the fact that he still had his hands on her shoulders, steadying her, waiting for the response she knew she had to give. "Because…"

Her own voice was hoarse, quiet, and choked. "Because… I was scared. For you." _You caught him in a weak moment, one that he wasn't prepared for. Because if he hadn't been drunk, if you hadn't been there… he wouldn't've… _you _wouldn't have… _

But she was just as unprepared for what happened next.

Serah had been expecting anger—hate, even, when the secret that she'd been harbouring for so long finally came out into the light. So when he abruptly pulled her closer in a tight embrace—the one that always made her feel as though there was nothing else in the world—there was no more need for those fears. Like the emotional catharsis that she so badly needed, this was something different: a new warmth borne from the fact that he _understood_.

He didn't say anything else—but there was no need to. The gesture that she was now a part of told her, in a wordless, soundless way, that he understood.

And that was all she really needed to know.

Drained, with a sense of danger that had not quite left her system, she was surprised once more when Snow let go of her. "Sleep, aight? We'll figure out the rest of this in the morning, 'kay?" She was all too happy to oblige, willing to escape into the merciful realm of dreams in which she could hopefully get a better grip on frayed emotions that were still on hyperdrive. Lulled by his warm presence, it wasn't long before that relief came.

* * *

She dreamt that night. Unexpected, but not unwelcomed, as though this was the relief, the reassurance she was hoping for, but in a way she would never have thought to come to occur in.

A remembrance, a story, of sorts, of her life. With loved ones that were there, and then gone, with happiness that was all too fleeting before it became unbearable sorrow. And strangely, though she was watching it all from someone else's eyes, she felt connected—an intimate part of every single face that was present in that dream. Their heartbeats were hers, and she could grasp each and every one of their fingers in her own hands.

But the only moments that she felt inexplicably and utterly herself were the moments connected to Snow… and then her sister. It didn't take her long to realize why that had been: they were the only people left known to her that were still connected, in one way or another, to her life. The only thing that was missing was the ending of that story, but that was no longer something she feared**—**she had the feeling that whatever ending it might've come to be... would be one that she created.

And it was with that realization that her eyes opened to a milky bright dawn, unburdened and unshadowed by the dregs of night. It was also with that realization that the resolve she'd made last night rose anew:

_I have to find her. But this time… this time, I'm not alone anymore._

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**So I think this was the moment probably many of you have been waiting for—and I have a feeling it wasn't the "dramatic" moment you were all expecting, but I felt that this way was the better way to go in terms of how Serah'd feel about it, at any rate. And on that note, we're coming up to the final, final segment in this fic.**

**I won't say more about it than I should, because we've just hit the beginning of the climax of the story, but we _are_ approaching the end here, with only two, maybe three chapters left to go if I decide to include a separate epilogue. Anyways, I'm really hoping that the emotional aspect of this chapter was done right, because that's what I was gunning for.  
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**Leave love as always, and hopefully I'll see you guys soon!  
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**Hearts!  
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	16. There's No Way I'll Ever Regret It

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten_!  
**

**This chapter would've been up sooner, had it not been for my dad taking _my_ laptop with him on his weekend business trip. :/ Oh well, can't complain about it now so we'll just leave it at that—it's here now!  
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**Thanks and love go to: KeeepSmiling (oh, stay tuned!), Mylaervain (haha, of course, did you expect him to react otherwise? :3 He likes being the hero after all), GKMader (thanks for the pointers!), FalconTytus (oh, you'll have to keep reading), Seeker of the Skies (thank you so much!) and Tamaki (thank you very much—with the 10K, I was thinking real world money, and you'll have to stick around for the uncle. As for HxL, unfortunately not in this one, because I thought this story fit Serah and Snow so much better than it did Hope and Light. And honestly, in all my other stories, I make Hope and Light go through way too much so I decided to spare Hope, at the very least. 'Sides, Snow and Serah deserved some well-needed love in _Unwritten_ because I felt bad for what I did to them in my other "full-length" fic(s?) —not too sure on that, as the second is a sequel— but anyways, thank you so much! It's reviews like that that totally make my day)  
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**Uhm, gosh. I won't pretend the chapter ahead is light and fluffy—anything but, as a matter of fact— so you _have_ been warned. And between you and me, tears were shed in the creation of this chapter and I'm currently trying to not let that get to me despite the fact that we've been building to these moments for a very, very long time.  
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**Enjoy as always! (:**

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Chapter 16: There's No Way I'll Ever Regret It

_"Regrets are born from what we could've done... and what we _should've_ done.  
But this was neither, because this was something I'd chosen wholeheartedly, something that I wholly accepted as what would be.  
And so, there's no way... I'll ever regret it."_ —Lightning

"Sit." The command was gentle, searching, and held nothing but concern in it. With nothing to do but to obey those words, Serah sat across from Snow at the dining table, watching the bright bands of morning sunlight slowly steal across the worn wooden surface. Hands resting uncertainly on the smooth tabletop, she was momentarily surprised when Snow enclosed one of hers in her own.

Sensing the slight tremble in her fingers, he attempted a weak grin before heaving a sigh. "Aight. I'm not going to ask you for specifics... or a play-by-play, or whatever. I just want to make a couple things clear. You're not going back, alright? I don't care what kind of relationship or whatever else might've happened... I've seen and heard enough to know that that's _not_ somewhere you should be. Second. No more secrets... alright?" Snow's voice had dropped by several decibels and Serah couldn't help but notice that there was a note of desperation in it. "Especially secrets like that. There're some things that might be meant for yourself, but there're other things that weren't meant to be kept in the dark."

A pained look flickered across Snow's ocean blue gaze, and without warning, he slammed his fist into the table. "Dammit, Serah, he could've hurt you — why the hell didn't you tell me?"

Looking down, chin dropping to her sternum, she tried to resist the urge to pull her hands out of his. _I-I've never seen him angry like this... _Afraid to meet his intense gaze, Serah wished there was something else in the room to look at, but there was nothing. She didn't want to repeat anything... didn't want to explain anything else. _I just want to forget about it... _

Some form of her sentiments must've shown on her face, because it wasn't five heartbeats later that Snow's tightening grip on her slender fingers relaxed. "Sorry," he mumbled quietly. "Didn't mean ta scare you or anything... Just... when I think about it, I get angry." Burying his face in his free hand, he gazed at her through his thick fingers.

Trying to keep her voice calm and in control, she met his gaze tentatively. "I'm sorry." It was the only thing she thought she could muster out loud without a trembling voice, but it was honest — _I..._ am_ sorry... If there was a way to tell you without endangering us all, I would've. If this wasn't such a dangerous secret to keep... I would've. _

At the end of her simple, two word sentence, there was a silence that seemed to stretch on forever, lasting lifetimes that she'd never live and mornings that she'd never see. But at the end of it, Serah heard Snow heave another sigh. "Nah, I'm not pointing fingers or anything... I know you would've said if you could." Meeting her gaze intently, she knew that there was something else on his mind, one that hovered in the gaze he was giving her. "There's something else... isn't there? Some other things that're related to this you haven't told me?" He didn't need to ask the next question for her to know what it was. _"Can you tell me now?"_

Slowly curling her hand into a fist underneath his, Serah tried to process how she felt about that particular request. The old hesitancy was there—of that, there was no doubt—but the calm serenity in which she had woken up this morning had left vestiges of delicate peace inside her chest that weren't going anywhere. _What... What do I have to hide from him now?_ Logically, she had nothing else to hide—there was nothing about _this_ that would change anything that had already happened... but it could change what _would_ happen.

But she still wasn't sure just what it was about telling him the last of her secrets that nagged at her. Like a thorn in her side, it wasn't an outright _bad_ feeling, it was more... _Like... it's so unsure and it's so out there in the unkn__own that I'm scared of what's going to happen. _But hadn't she always been—afraid of the future, at the very least? And now that she could seize hers with her own hands... what was there to be scared of?

Clinging to that helped.

Drawing in a deep breath, Serah tried to come up with the words to say, but nothing left her lips—there was so much to begin with and she wasn't sure how to even _start_ this particular conversation. As if sensing her hesitation, Snow gave her a wry grin across the table. "It's 'kay... it's probably overwhelming to think about what you should talk about first. Why don't I just... ask? Would that make things easier?"

_Thank you. _Breathing in another breath, she nodded.

At that, Snow removed the comforting weight of his hand from hers; lacing his fingers together, he rested his chin on his conjoined digits. "Alright... so... can you tell me... who we met last night now?"

And once again, it was like she was watching someone else go through those motions, watching someone else speak those words from phantom lips. But Serah knew her voice was flat—and she tried to keep it that way, trying to remove herself from the emotional flipside to those words. "My sister." Those words came as a lifeless, hoarse whisper.

If Snow found something odd—or surprising, about that answer, he kept his face straight. There was a look of weary acceptance—almost as if he'd _expected_ that to be the answer to that question. "So if she's related to you... why doesn't she, y'know, live with you?" There was no note of accusation in those words, only an understanding curiousity.

And it was just like that, that the entire story came out.

Surprisingly, it was less painful than she'd expected it to be, less draining and definitely not what Serah had expected for the moment she'd known all along it would come out as. It was as though each word spoken was a link in a set of chains that were slowly, one-by-one, being removed from beating wings; a weight that had been there for longer than she could remember. But what had really surprised her was that it had been hard to start with—and she'd expected it to only get more difficult as it came out, but that wasn't what happened: it became _easier_ to talk about it the more she revealed.

Snow was silent for a long time afterwards—what he was thinking, she couldn't guess, but there was a pained understanding in his eyes when he finally looked up again. "It's not _wrong_," he started quietly, "to want to look for her. I mean, there're two sides to every story, and I guess... it makes sense that you wanna know what _really_ went down. But don't you... I dunno, what if she wants to live her own life? What if she doesn't want you bugging her? I mean, she sounded pretty adamant last night... d'you really want to go against that?"

Those words pulled at the instinct she'd known had been there all along. Shaking her head, Serah tried, once again, to convey the desperation that she'd felt consume her to him. "But you don't know her... Snow, I know she's not that kind of—she wouldn't, she was always telling me what not to do... and doing what she's doing is the exact thing that she told _me_ not to do. I don't know... maybe I've been angry at her for so long that I couldn't see past that... but now..." _But now, because of him and because of what he taught me, I know that everything done has some sort of rationalization behind it. I've never wanted to find out her reasons for leaving... but I do now. __If I never find out... I'll never be at peace. I know myself well enough to know that. _

Snow seemed to take those words seriously. "Well, if you put it that way... Yeah, I see your point. It's just... I don't want you being more hurt than you have to, y'know? I mean, what if it's an answer that you can't accept? What then, Serah?"

_I don't know._ She had honestly never considered what things might come to be if it was an answer that hurt—or an answer that she couldn't live with. Certainly, the latter posed a fear she didn't want to go back to, but... _Regardless of how things might be... I just want to know. __Even knowing... would be better than not knowing. _"I'll... just have to deal with it... won't I?" _What else can I do about it? _

He heaved another sigh. "Well, alright. But don't you... I mean, don't we need a plan to go looking for her? I think you know as well as I do how bad downtown can be... you can't just go strolling through looking for one person."

That comment surprised her. "Y-You're really... you're really going with me?"

He laughed. "Well, yeah. I can't really let you go alone, right?"

_It was the one thing I wanted... and the one thing I was afraid to ask him. __But right now... anything I might've felt about telling him... isn't there anymore. Because I know he understands... and there's no way I'll ever regret opening up to him. Ever._

* * *

Twilight stretched its unforgiving fingers across the darkening sky as Serah felt Snow wrap an arm around her shoulders. The downtown bustle was still there, but it was thinning rapidly. Reassured by the quick squeeze he gave to her shoulder, Serah set her sights on the one alleyway she'd seen her sister at more than once. "You think she'll show up tonight?" Snow's whisper was quiet, but she knew he was looking in the same direction she was: the same spot they'd been coming to, hoping to run into her sister, for every evening for at least a week.

Giving a light shrug, she relaxed a little. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. "But this is the only place I've seen her at more than once... we can't really go looking for her, so..." _And so the only thing I—we—can do, is wait. _

And that, in itself, was funny, because it felt like to her as though she'd been waiting her entire life. _For what?_ She hadn't been sure of the answer, and a year ago, she might've still _not_ known the answer. _But today... I feel like I can at least hold a little bit of that answer in my hands — I wanted someone to care. When Claire was there, and I thought I knew she cared... it was okay. But today... I know for _sure_ someone cares. _

That thought was warm, comforting, and it felt empowering in the cool summer night.

They'd passed by her house earlier, for the first time since she'd left. Devoid of human life, the windows had been tightly closed with the curtains drawn tight over the glass panes. Snow had even worked up the nerve to go and have a look around, but there had been no one home—no car in the driveway and no sign of life in the abandoned backyard.

And standing there on the lawn, she'd been worried—worried that indeed, he might come after them. But she'd never given him a chance to associate Snow with her: that had always been something she was careful to make sure of... and now, Serah knew she had made the right choices in _that_, at the very least. _Would he even remember last week? We came home so late... and he was so... _She couldn't continue the thought, but she hadn't needed to.

The first evening after she'd left, Serah had felt consumed by a terror that felt as old as life itself. _What if he sends the police on us? What if... _But no one had knocked at their door and no one had made an attempt to take her back. And slowly, as the days passed, that fear abated, little by little. She hadn't given him any clue as to where she was, and there was nothing—in her memory—that suggested that Snow had given him his name. She could only assume that he'd given her up as a lost cause... much the way he'd given up on her sister.

Perhaps he thought that this time, reporting to the Sanctum was more trouble than it was worth—she wasn't sure how he'd handled Claire's disappearance, but Serah was fairly sure that a repeated offence wasn't going to be bought over easily with something as simple and as straightforward as money; she could only thank her rare lucky stars that graduating from the high school this year meant that their records wouldn't be available to just anyone who asked.

But whatever it was that stopped him from pursuing them, she was glad for. _I... I'm not going to go to anyone either. _It was a chapter in her life she wanted closed, forgotten, and set behind her—and to complete that, there was one last thing she needed to do. _This._

* * *

Dimming twilight cast shadows on the already-dark alleyways, but Lightning wasn't scared anymore. Her fears that her sister would come back looking for her had been awoken once more when she knew Serah'd seen her on the street that night, but two weeks had passed—and there'd been no sign that Serah was coming back. _And for that, I can feel glad. _

Passing by the neon green sign of Fang's bar, she paused by the entrance, knowing that the grey-haired woman should be out soon. But the person who emerged from Fang's bar wasn't the grey-haired woman, but a girl she didn't recognize.

And instantly, memories of that afternoon slammed into her chest—the rich red pigtails of the unnamed girl she'd found, the one that she'd cursed for being stupid and desperate, only to realize that that might've been her in a different situation. And this girl, the one standing in front of her now, was no different. Silvery platinum hair stretched almost to her waist, the girl's steel-blue eyes stared up at her despondently.

Quick footsteps from inside the bar told her that someone was coming. "And stay out!" The shout was a voice she recognized—Fang's, and from the sounds of it, the dark-haired woman wasn't in the mood for anything else tonight. "We don't take minors here, so get lost before I call the police on ya!"

The door was shut with a slam.

Slightly taken aback, Lightning had turned to go before she heard the girl let out a sob. And even though she was intent on making her way back, she caught the words anyways. "I can't go home... I can't go home..."

Sympathy wasn't her forte, and she knew that better than anyone. But right now, Lightning knew that the girl crouched beside Fang's bar could've been her... _Could've been_ _Serah._ And it was always on those thoughts that brought out the compassion long since buried by the hardness and unforgiving nature of her world. Crouching down beside the girl, she wasn't surprised to see the tears turning the black stone of the street to an even darker shade.

The girl flinched back from her for all of a moment before it seemed to occur to her that she wasn't an attacker—and Lightning didn't need to ask the question to get the answer. "I can't go home," she repeated quietly, the words muffled through silent sobs. "He wanted me to get a job... he lost his, you know? But I can't... there's nowhere else... and he'll hit me if I don't get one..."

Those words were like a knife to the chest, as it dredged up memories that she would've done anything to forget. _There's no way __I'll _ever _forget._ Memories of what had been, what Serah was still probably trapped in felt like something had seized her throat tightly and wouldn't let it go. Anger and frustration combined, Lightning knew that the girl in front of her was, essentially, what she might've been at a younger age. It was impossible not to draw the similarities and it was impossible to disassociate her own past from the present right in front of her.

What happened next wasn't something that she'd thought through, nor was it something that she'd planned. But there was no denying the anger she felt for the nameless girl beside her, because they shared a similarity that she never would've have wished on anyone else. And it was in that moment of utter defiance—whether it was in her past or the girl's present—that sudden clarity flooded every aspect of her senses. _I know what I have to do... I know what I have to do... It doesn't matter that I don't know her... because I _can't_ let what happened to me happen to her._ Perhaps it wasn't an action thoroughly processed by the rationale screaming at her to do otherwise, but Lightning found that she felt light—even elated—watching the girl run off. Any regrets she might've had about what she'd just done was muted by that same strange sense of defiance.

Less elated, perhaps, when someone's hand closed over her shoulder. "What do you think you're doing?"

* * *

There hadn't been anything else for her to do but run. Where, she didn't know, but it was obvious that she could no longer stay here—there would be no doubt that what she'd done would make it back to _him_ soon enough. Images and memories teeming in her mind, Lightning tried to shove those out of her mind and concentrate on the one thing that she could do now: escape.

Heartbeat hammering in her throat, she wasn't as careful or as watchful as she should've been; still trapped in that mire of utter emotion that had gripped her at the girl's words, she found herself running into a dead end, one that she should've foreseen on a good day. But that emotion was beginning to become choked by a different feeling, one that she'd only felt a few times before: fear.

_I did the right thing... I did the right thing. _Clutching a hand to her throat, fingers clenched around her collar, she rested her other hand flat against the cracked brick wall, trying to calm her breathing. It had been mere moments after she'd straightened up again did she hear heavy footsteps coming from the alley that was the only other way out. She had never really expected to get away with what she'd done... even if she laid low for days, weeks, he'd find her eventually.

"So this is where you are." Akito's voice was calculated, menacing, and she could hear the smile on his lips. "After that warning I gave you, six months ago, you're still doing this. How long have you been stealing from me?"

Holding her ground, Lightning didn't reply, slowly pulling her slender hands into fists at her side, watching as several more figures emerged from the shadows, pressed against the side of the alleyway. She could see his smirk even from here, masking cold anger. "I don't expect you to reply."

"I'm leaving," she hissed out. "I'm done with you." She sounded stronger than she felt - she knew there was no way out of this, she knew he was simply toying with her. His smile curved wider at her words.

"You think... you can just leave? After everything I did for you, Lightning, you think you can just _leave_? Who do you think you are? Remember the vow you gave me? The one that told me... we were your new family? Where is that now?"

Gritting her teeth, Lightning scanned her ice blue gaze around the small, dark avenue. There was the broken chain link fence at her back that Serah had scrambled through once, so long ago, but she knew that if she attempted that, a knife would be buried in her back before she was even halfway up the links. Pressing down on either side of her were three story tall stone walls... and Akito was blocking the only other way out. There was nowhere for her to run.

She jerked her head up again at the sound of him approaching her, his footsteps echoing a little. Muscles frozen in place with both nervous fear and adrenaline that had not quite yet abated, she followed him with her gaze. "You thought you could get away with this, didn't you?" he hissed at her, one hand plunged into the cloak he wore. "In your dreams, bitch."

The following blow knocked her to the ground, her left cheek swollen and throbbing from the blow that had instantly drawn blood. Pressing his boot into her throat, for a moment, all Lightning could comprehend was that the pressure at her windpipe was going to suffocate her; every breath painful and burning as she struggled to pull it to her lungs, she could see the blackness gathering at her vision already. The tough leather of the boot scraped across her chin as he removed the contact, watching her gasp for breath on the ground. "Don't think... this will go easy for you," he snarled at her.

A rough hand pulled her up, slamming her back against the brick, before something sharp was driven into her hand at her side. It cut through skin, flesh, and then finally bone, as whatever it was pierced her hand to the stone wall; letting out a cry of pain, she saw the smirk cross his lips again as the knife was ripped from her hand, splattering her face with her own blood. The swift kick to her abdomen came a mere moments later, driving her to the ground once again as she sank into a crouch, clutching her bleeding hand. _Please... just... finish it. _

She knew Akito wouldn't give her the satisfaction of that. The same knife ripped into her side, then her back, as she was jerked forward by the momentum, before a stronger, rough hand gripped her collar, throwing her against the fence that rattled the moment her body slammed against it. Curling onto the side that had been ravaged by the weapon, Lightning tried to hide, tried to make her slender form smaller on the ground that held no warmth. Exhaustion and fear dragged at the limbs that could no longer fight back. She couldn't struggle against the burdens she carried anymore - they had finally caught up to her, in the moment she'd finally come clean. In this moment of pain and utter hopelessness, her life felt like it weighed the whole world; she wanted nothing more than to cast it behind her, to find the lightness she wanted to escape with. _I gave that girl today's money__... she'll be safe... she has to be... This can't have been for nothing... _

Something else tore into her exposed shoulder, fighting the hoarse scream that was torn from her lips nonetheless, she found herself looking up at the merciless brown eyes, the same ones that had told her she would get what was coming to her if she slipped up again. She was rapidly losing consciousness - scarlet stickiness was clinging to her pale skin as radiant pain flared in the places where the weapon had cut into her skin, leaving only a sensation that felt like liquid fire. _No... please, no... _

"This is what you get... for turning your back, Lightning." His voice held no mercy, and in her failing awareness she realized that there was some form of amusement in his voice... amusement at her pain, amusement at what he was going to do to her. "You should have known better."

She couldn't think anymore. Powerless to fight back, powerless to struggle against the painful, agonizing chains that was life itself, there was only one thing she could do... and that was to let it embrace her.

_I'm so tired..._

* * *

**Won't pretend that this moment hasn't been coming for awhile. I knew it would happen and I knew it would happen in this fashion. Not quite sure if I got the emotional intensity of this chapter as right as I would've wanted it to happen, but... I tried. D: But if I'm honest, it sets the scene for the next chapter, so I feel alright about that. I'm not quite sure yet if the next chapter's going to be the last—if it is, it might end up being quite long, so we'll see, but yeah. Things're wrapping up soon.  
**

**Leave love as always, and I'll see you guys soon enough! (Definitely sometime this week)  
**

**Hearts!  
**


	17. Absolution

**So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of _Unwritten!_  
**

**As promised... this chapter is the last. Well, the second last, but only because I felt the ending was better off as a seperate chapter on its own, and not associated with this one. But they're both being posted at the same time... so you could count them as meant to be together. (:  
**

**Thank you and love go to: KeeepSmiling, GKMader, Mylaervain, and FalconTytus! I'm keeping this brief because my long A/N will be at the very end of the epilogue, so let's just keep rolling for now. ;3  
**

**Once again, this chapter was difficult to struggle through in its entirety—the emotional aspect of it was challenging, to say the least, so I can only hope I did it justice. Enjoy as always!**

* * *

Chapter 17: Absolution

_"When we understand someone... we truly have to understand them.  
Not just one side of them, or the side that we want to see, but every single aspect of that person.  
That's what understanding is about."_ **—**Serah Farron

It was to the sound of raindrops that she awoke. The warm summer rain felt good on her skin—soothing, unburdened and unfettered, Lightning found no reason to move from where she was. Still sprawled on her back and staring up at the night sky marbled with storm clouds, radiant pain tore at her limbs; she was happy to let those drops on her skin lull her back into some deep blackness that she wouldn't wake from again.

And that thought—that thought was all too tantalizing, to just lie here and wait for that cold finality to snatch her from the realm of the living. _Because… there can't be anything bad waiting there, right? _Whatever there was there, whatever it was that would greet her, it had to be better than the awful piece of time that was 'now'. Exhaustion and pain gluing her limbs to the wet cement ground, that thought was soothing… comforting in the mess of emotions and thoughts that was all that she had left.

No one knew, upon arriving in this world, how their lives would end—that in itself, was probably the one thing that led people to continue with their lives, in search for an ending that they desired. _And is this… is this what I wanted? _

She didn't know.

But what she did know was that however else her life had begun, however else fate might've taken her where she was meant to be, that _this_ was something she could accept: a legitimate end to a life that had had so many illegitimate things happen to it. Her body could be reclaimed by karmic destiny; that force returning it to the earth that it had come from… and whatever was beyond the veil could embrace the remnants of her soul with open arms, but none of that could erase the weight of her decision in her mind. _There's no way… I'll ever regret it. _

That thought was wholly tangible and impossibly clear—it wasn't something that hurt to think about, and it unfurled a sort of peace in her chest that somehow seemed to make the whole situation surreal.

_There's only one thing I _will_ regret. _

_Serah. _

But that was alright—she knew that her sister would be okay. _There's someone else that cares about her now… isn't there? _She wasn't blind…nor was she imperceptive to that degree. _And if there's someone else that can make her happy, someone else that can support her in ways I no longer can… then why should I have any reason to feel sad? _

And though she'd just berated herself for it, Lightning could feel the first hints of warmth at the corners of her eyes; something that she hadn't experienced since before the time she'd left. _Why the hell… am I crying? _And deep down, she knew the answer to that as well. _It's because I haven't… I haven't done anything to make it up to her. _

It was on those thoughts that a last, desperate surge of adrenaline snatched her body in its merciless grasp, granting her the blissful clarity that had long since been robbed from her and an elated sensation of lightness. Slowly pulling herself upwards into a half sitting position, she watched the rain for a moment, almost _admiring_ the way the clear, pearly droplets turned the red streaks on the back of her left hand into a translucent colour.

Getting up was harder.

Every movement tore at her back—she couldn't manage anything faster than a snail's pace and she had to have something to hold onto to keep herself upright. Lightning suspected that that rush of adrenaline had dampened the pain, made it so that she couldn't clearly feel the ragged cut torn into her back, but it didn't matter right now.

What mattered right now was that she made it to her stash of money—the one hidden under the loose slab of brick—and somehow got it to Serah before… Inwardly, something in her mind wanted to laugh at the enormity of such a task, but she ignored it. _There's… nothing else for me to do. There's nothing else I need to do for her. _Hands gripping the slick brick wall, Lightning found that clinging to that resolve made the painful inches forward something she could deal with.

* * *

There was an ominous quiet in the vicinity of the warehouse.

Perfectly aware that she was neither as alert nor as rational as she could have been, Lightning decided to take that chance anyways. _What else do I have to lose? _But the silence persisted; even as she slipped in between the chain link fence, there was no one to stop her. _Where did they… _

In the slipping clarity of her consciousness, she couldn't remember—or try to figure out—why there was no one here. But right now, she wasn't going to question it, nor was she going to belittle the chance that the Maker had had the good fortune to rain down on her—figuratively speaking—for once in her life.

The downpour was starting to abate now, at any rate; turning into a fine drizzle that took away some of the surreality of the situation, it wasn't long before her bloodied, trembling fingers were prying at the loose rock underneath the scrap of carpet.

Her fingers were still shaking when they closed around the neck of the burlap sack; leaving red streaks on the rough fabric, Lightning felt a certain amount of relief that calmed her heartbeat when it became obvious that it was the way she'd left it. _And now… the only thing to do is to get out of here… and give this to Serah… however that's going to happen. _

It was by some blessed miracle that she left the chain-link fence with no further incidents once more. _For the last time_, she corrected herself in her head quietly. There would be no return once she left… but it wasn't as if there had been happy memories created here to begin with. At those thoughts, she felt like snorting to herself. _Funny how… when I know I'm about to die… that this kind of thing comes back to me. _

But though that thought was arbitrary, Lightning found that it was something that she could _accept._ The strength that her last, desperate resolve had given her was ebbing away and she knew it. _I have to find Serah, I have to find Serah… _In the continuing drizzle, she couldn't see how she could hope that Serah would be out… or indeed, somewhere where her sister could be reached in her faltering footsteps. She didn't want to entertain the thought of failure, but Lightning knew she had to be realistic—_after all… what else but realism has my life been based on? _ There was no one she could trust—and certainly no one she would've _wanted_to trust with the burden she held clenched tight in one fist.

With no sense of direction left to her, it wasn't long before the last of that resolve drained from her limbs, leaving her as helpless as she'd woken up… and just as drained. Slowly sinking to the wet concrete, her fingers still gripped the scratchy fabric, trapping the mouth of the bag between her bleeding palm and the slick cement.

Looking up through the fine mist that had begun to cling to earth, she recognized the alleyway in which Serah had witnessed her pulling out her own knife against that man. And that… that was ironic—_I was threatening to kill him… and here I am now. It's not him… that's going to be dying here. It's me. _

That thought dragged a long overdue whimper of pain from her lips; now that the rain was gone, it wasn't hard to guess that the new, collecting warmth on her back hadn't come from the dark skies above, but from the line of fire ripped up her side and onto her back.

But it was also in that moment that she heard footsteps—rapid ones. _No. Please, not now… _If she was going to die, then she at least wanted it to be on her own terms—she didn't want some drunk tearing into the serenity she felt about what was no doubt only a short time away. It was getting harder to breathe and each breath didn't calm the unsteady, faltering heartbeat that was her own. It wasn't hard to discern the gathering darkness in her vision from the darkness of the night.

But the hands that pulled themselves around her shoulders were neither rough nor did they have ill intent. And for a moment, Lightning couldn't understand why—until her mind registered the voice that was associated with those arms. "Claire… Claire!"

_Serah. _

She could no longer respond to the words that had absolutely no meaning to her anymore—her throat refused to work and she couldn't discern anything from the expanding field of black in her vision. The only thing that she _could_ register was the desperate squeeze of fingers against her own, and at that… if she could have had the strength to laugh, she would have.

It was so cruelly ironic that the one thing she wished she could've had was given to her in death. Lightning was all too aware of the fact that things… for once, seemed to go her way tonight—something that had never happened to her in the long, burdening years of life. And it was so ironic that she'd been the one to leave her sister behind, to _make sure_ that the thing still clutched tightly in her hand happened, only to have the reason for it to happen snatched away from her in her moment of triumph.

But things could only come full circle. And this was probably no less than she deserved; after all, one could only reap what they had sowed. Lightning had no idea what she'd put her sister through in the intervening years… but she could guess. It was like the future she'd wanted was one born out of pain, lies, deceit… everything that she'd been taught to scorn—so it seemed only fair that all of those things would come back to embrace her the moment she was prepared to leave it all behind.

_But it's not… it's better than I could've hoped for. _Because now… there was nothing _to_ regret—the triumph of this moment would be the one she took with her. _And it's better this way… right? Serah won't have to grieve… she can hate me if she wants. _It hurt, but it was a truth she would wholly embrace. _A regret I'll never have. _

Gentle hands brushed back the damp pink bangs plastered to her forehead.

_Serah… I'm sorry._

* * *

Pressing the back of her hand to her sister's forehead, Serah tried to keep her breathing even and in control. _Don't panic… don't panic._ But it was impossible not to do—and even now, back in Snow's apartment, the intense anxiety in her chest hadn't left in any way, shape, or form. The skin underneath her own was dry and carried the familiar heat of fever. _Please be alright. _

Snow had made absolutely no comment on the way back—and right now, she could feel gladder than ever for his support. But something had changed in his expression the moment they'd both realized who it was; it was subtle, but it hadn't escaped her notice.

Reassured that her sister would be alright for the time being, she turned to him—Snow was sitting at the dining table, hands impatiently drumming the worn wooden surface as he watched her. The bag that had been in her sister's hand was thrown messily across the table: it had made a rather heavy _clunk_ when Snow had dumped it there, and Serah knew she would be lying to herself if she wasn't apprehensive about what was inside. _Because I know… something's telling me that's why she got hurt. _

"So," began Snow stiffly. "What do you want to do, Serah?"

Confused for a moment, she couldn't understand what he was asking. "W-What? Snow, what are you talking about?"

The look in his familiar ocean blue gaze was intense. "Well… I know you're going to ask her about… you know. But what then, Serah? What if she decides to leave again? Have you thought about that?"

Truthfully, she hadn't. She hadn't thought that far—nothing else but panic had consumed her mind on painful journey back from downtown Eden, and she hadn't thought that far now, because she hadn't for a moment believed that her sister would take off again afterwards. _She wouldn't… right? She'll stay… right? _

She wasn't going to pretend that Snow's words didn't reawaken the familiar doubts in her chest, but Serah knew she _couldn't_ just give up now. _I've finally found her… I'm not going to let her go off again without… _

_Without making up for the time we should've been together. _

The look on her face was all he needed to know. "See… Look, Serah," he chastised himself when he caught the expression that flickered across her face, "I'm not trying to belittle whatever relationship you have with your sister. But… you were so torn up over it, y'know? I just don't want to see you go through that again."

A soft sigh escaped her lips, carrying with it something of a pained whimper. At that, she heard the legs of the chair scrape against the floor, and it wasn't long before familiar warm arms were wrapped around her shoulders. "Serah… I just don't want to see you getting so upset over something else again." The whisper was quiet and spoken with a barely audible voice into her hair, but she knew the intent in it was serious.

"I know." _And I do… I really do know that you care about my well-being… but… _She didn't think he understood… not really. _He doesn't understand why I have to know… why I want her to stay with me. _And she couldn't blame him—he'd never had siblings, had never known how much she _thought_ her sister had cared about her. _And what I saw tonight… whatever happened, it threw my anger out the window. I just want to know the truth. _"I really do know," she whispered back. "But I… I also want to know the truth. And… I _want_ her to stay," she admitted quietly.

He tousled her pink bangs affectionately. "I know you do, baby. She's someone you care about… isn't she?" He said this not with an accusatory tone, but with a note of curiosity—one that she hadn't missed. "What am I saying… that's a good thing," he chuckled to himself. "Just don't… I dunno, overburden yourself, aight?" Over the top of her head, Serah felt him cast a glance at the sleeping form of her sister behind them on the couch. "It's a good thing she'll be alright… right? I mean, whatever attacked her, or _whoever_ attacked her, at least nothing's _too_ serious."

Feeling slightly more at ease, Serah blinked up at him. "We won't have to take her to the hospital… right?"

Snow's hands slid down her shoulders to rest on her elbows. "I don't think so… But Serah, you do realize… even if we do, we can't take her anyways, right?"

Not understanding, she stared up at him through messy pink bangs, trying to make sense of the words that didn't seem to hold meaning for her anymore. "W-what?"

Leading her over to the dining room table, he gestured for her to sit down, the rough fabric of the sack between them. "You do realize… that even if we had healthcare insurance for _anyone_ in this apartment… they'll ask questions, right? And what're we going to say when they do?" He rested a thick hand on his chin as he spoke. "The truth? Forget the fact that we don't _know_ the truth… but what d'you think made her end up this way? She couldn't've been some innocent bystander… you know that as well as I do. And if she's involved with some gang, or some drug dealer… what's to stop her from being persecuted by the police?" He paused for a moment, clearly regretting his words from the expression on her face. "Look… M'not trying to scare you or anything… but you gotta be realistic here."

The funny thing was… Serah had considered those things herself. She'd been fairly sure they'd been alone on that avenue… but what was to stop the police or the Sanctum from coming after her sister if they brought her somewhere? But hearing it all… coming from him, it put things in a fearful context that she hadn't considered before.

Standing up again, Snow reached over to ruffle her hair. "Ah, we'll be alright. Get some rest…'kay? We'll talk in the morning."

* * *

Alone in the darkness, Serah was still unused to the sound of someone else's breathing other than her own. But this time, it wasn't Snow's loud snores that filled the silence, but the slightly laboured breathing of her sister just beside her in the gloom.

Sitting curled up against the glass panes of the window, Serah watched the moonlight play with the familiar pink bangs draped across her sister's forehead. _What did you do… Claire? What happened? _

The questions chased each other around and around in her head—she could think of possibilities, but each one was worse than the last. Those thoughts teemed like demons in her mind, until Serah wanted to grip her head between her hands and scream. _Stop… just stop it… I just want to know the truth! _

That was the moment a hand closed around hers.

Shocked into silence for a moment, it was only after she'd recovered from the initial bewilderment of the moment that she could force her throat into something that would create sounds. "Claire?"

There was the faint sound of a weak chuckle. "Did I tell you… that's not my name anymore?" There was no hint of anger in those words, only a slight amusement.

She remembered—the moment being pulled to the forefront of her mind amidst all the other memories it belonged with. "Lightning," she ventured quietly. The name was unfamiliar, and it felt strange on her tongue, almost like it was never meant to be said out loud. It didn't feel right… no matter how much she tried to work her mind around it. _To me… you'll always be Claire. _

But that only solitary thought brought on so many others, and Serah could no longer keep the questions back. "Cl—" She stopped herself before she made that mistake again. "Why did you leave… why didn't you stay?" As much as she hated herself for it, the words came out as a quiet whimper—definitely not the strength Serah had vowed to herself she would have for when this moment finally came.

Her sister was silent for a long time.

And for a moment, Serah thought it was because she'd fallen asleep again. But that wasn't the case—because those fingers were clenched around her own hand as tightly as they'd been before. "I'm sorry," came the quiet, intoned murmur. "I couldn't take you with me… and I honestly thought that the world I was leaving you behind in… was better than the one I was headed for."

And _that_… in some way, at least made sense to her; Serah could see that reasoning in her head. Hadn't she always been told by Snow that downtown Eden was dangerous? Hadn't she seen it for herself? _But it… it doesn't explain why… _"Why couldn't you take me with you?" Those last words came through a closed throat, and try as she might, Serah felt the familiar pricklings of tears beginning to gather again.

But her sister didn't answer her question with a statement; rather, she chose to answer that question with a question of her own. "The thing I had with me… did you bring it?"

In the moonlight, Serah nodded—unsure of the quality of her voice should she speak out loud—before she remembered that her sister wouldn't be able to see her in the darkness. "Yes."

"Did you look inside it?" The question was weary, quiet but yet, held a note of something Serah couldn't discern at first. It was only after she'd made her way to the table and closed her hand around it did she place it—a heavy sort of apprehension. Returning to sit beside the couch, she gripped the rough fabric in her hands, feeling its scratchy surface chafe against her palms. "Open it," her sister commanded quietly.

Unable to see properly in the moonlight, Serah could only rummage the very top of the bag—but the moment her fingers brushed against the rough textures of the things inside, she didn't need to. The gasp that escaped her lips was uncontrolled, but she made no attempt to stifle the sound.

Her sister's next words came as a quiet whisper. "That's why."


	18. Epilogue: What We Believe In

Epilogue: What We Believe In

_Autumn_

"Snooooooow! Someone's at the door! Could you get it?" Serah wasn't sure if her yell had been loud enough for him to hear—the burly blond was humming to himself in the hallway. She smiled to herself: Snow was good at many things… but music wasn't one of them. She couldn't even be sure that he'd heard the doorbell to the apartment ring, much less heard her voice over his loud voice.

It was a few heartbeats after that that she heard him stop humming. "Did you say something?" Trying to suppress a giggle, Serah made her way out of the bathroom, pink hair wrapped in a sunshine yellow fluffy towel.

"_Yes."_ Mock-resting her hands on her hips, she tried to glare at him under damp pink bangs. It didn't work—not just because she wasn't good at glaring at anyone to begin with, but because her sister was so much _better _at it. "Get the door."

Snapping a playful salute, Snow ambled his way over to the wooden doorframe, giving her his usual customary grin. "Yes ma'am!" Wrenching open the door ungraciously earned him another glare—a real one this time, as Serah spotted her sister from behind Snow's bulk.

Cowering from the icy blue gaze, Serah couldn't hold back the giggles this time. _I never thought Snow would be scared of someone… but I guess I was wrong. _Leaning over his retreating frame, Serah pulled her arms around her sister's slender shoulders, breathing in the smell of her shampoo. "Don't be mad, Light," she chided playfully. "He only got the door because I was in the shower."

Her sister wasn't convinced. After returning the brisk hug, Serah could feel that she was still glaring pointedly at Snow over her head. "He didn't have to open it with enough force to rip it off," she muttered under her breath.

But if that was all, then something was on her sister's mind tonight. There was none of the usual bickering—that Serah thoroughly enjoyed—and when her sister bought Snow's usual grin without a comment, she _knew_ there was something up.

Following her as Light went to sit down at the dining table, Serah absentmindedly played with the armband on her sister's right arm, the same one that decorated her own. "Something the matter?" she asked lightly.

That earned her a glare of her own as Light arched an eyebrow at her. "Funny that you should ask." There was a pause in which Serah knew her sister was trying to pick the right words to explain—that silence had also earned Snow's silence: the big man was sitting on the couch opposite, clearly waiting for some indication of a beginning. "It's… well, nothing's _wrong_," she continued. "I got a job."

It was proof of how much that one statement had actually _meant_ to her sister when she didn't resist nor try to pull away from the second embrace Serah endowed on her that evening. "But that also means I'll be moving out," she warned quietly. "I can't—Never mind." Light had noticed the look on her face.

"Awh, does it really? And I was having so much fun bugging you too," complained Snow from the couch. Serah watched her sister glare at him again, her icy expression freezing the grin on his face.

"And that's exactly what I _won't_ be missing about this place," she muttered quietly. "Serah, don't look at me like that—you're an adult and you can certainly live by yourself. Heck, you even have _him,_" emphasizing the pronoun with an accusing finger," to keep you happy. You should be glad to get rid of me."

Serah rested her hands on her sister's shoulders again, noting with the usual pang in her stomach at the jagged scar that decorated the skin of the left. "But you'll come back to visit us?"

Light rolled her eyes. "Serah, I can come and tuck you in every night if that's what you want."

_I won't lie._

_I won't pretend that I wasn't hurt by everything that's happened. But you know what? It makes moments like this all the more enjoyable… all the more meaningful _because_ they happened. Because I can look at what I have now, and the people that care about me, and confidently say that my future is in my own hands now. _

'_Light'. It took us so, so long to come up with a compromise for your name. It wasn't that I didn't understand that you didn't want to be called 'Claire', it was that I knew I could never get used to 'Lightning'. _

_But looking back on it now… even that argument—if it could be called that—was worth every moment, for both the pain and the happiness that came with it._

* * *

Standing on the balcony, enjoying the fresh autumn breeze, Serah didn't notice Snow coming up behind her until he was standing beside her; one arm snaking its way across her shoulders, she didn't hesitate to lean her head against his.

"You know what day it is?" he asked quietly, a teasing tone in his voice.

Glancing upwards, she shook her head. "No. What day is it?"

"A year to the day we met," came the solemn reply. She found that she couldn't look away from his intense ocean blue gaze. "It's been one hell of a year, hasn't it?"

_You could say that. _There had been so many ups and downs, of moments of exposure and self-discovery, of weakness and strength, but she couldn't walk away from it just like that. _No. It's been the most meaningful year of my life... and I can say, without lying to myself or anyone else, that I wouldn't change it all. _"But it's… It came out right… in the end." The words were quiet and simple, but they were in no way an accurate reflection of what the past year had been. _And it's been something I can't put into words. _

"That's true," laughed Snow. "But it also made me realize something else. It'll probably sound old to you… but I think now's an appropriate time to say it, while your sister's in the shower so she can't harp on about it."

She returned his laugh with a smile of her own. "Nothing you say will be dumb," she murmured quietly. _After all… it was because of what you said… the confidence you instilled in me… that allowed all of this to happen. Without you, none of this would have ever been possible._

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

* * *

The crisp autumn breeze plucked at stray strands of pink hair, but Lightning was no longer afraid of the wind and what changes it might've brought. She still hadn't told Serah exactly where she was working, but it was one of those things that she knew her sister would worry about. _And she won't accept that I've gone until I'm gone. _

Pausing in front of the building, staring through the translucent glass at the Sanctum logo emblazoned on the wall inside, she stuffed her hands into her pockets.

It had been on a whim that she'd thought of applying to the army. Lightning had known that she couldn't get a professional job—after all, what decent profession would hire someone who hadn't even graduated high school? It hadn't occurred to her the possibility of being a soldier until she'd passed the headquarters in downtown Eden on a shopping trip for Serah.

She'd hidden that fact from her sister, only because she'd known Serah wouldn't approve of the thought of her going to fight again. And that, in itself, was funny, because it was the only thing she knew how to do. _Every single facet of the life I have now… I've been fighting for. It's the only thing I have left that's, well… _me.

She also hadn't been sure if her background would let her in—after all, it was nothing to be proud of. But being honest—blatantly honest—something that had always been instilled in her, had been drawn out by that past. _People I cared about… have been hurt because I wasn't honest. So this time… _

And it was that honesty that had ultimately given her something to gain—she had been upfront about her past, but also adamant in what she wanted to do. _It's stupid… I know, but… I want to make sure that the world I'm from is a world that won't have to exist anymore. _She hadn't been sure if it was _that_ sentiment that had gotten her the stamp of approval, but it didn't matter now.

For a moment, she rested her hands on the cold glass of the entrance, staring at her slender fingers and the jagged scar on the back of her right palm. Lightning knew perfectly well that it wouldn't go away—no amount of skin treatment would be able to hide it—but there was no need to. _It's part of who I am. Just like everything else that's happened to me and just like everything else I'm about to embrace. _

Taking a breath, she took the necessary step forward to make the automatic door slide open.

It was time to start again.

_Fin._

* * *

**And so, with that, we are at the end.  
**

**Oh my goodness... it's been an amazing roller coaster of ups and downs, like Snow said, and I'd be lying if I said this wasn't a great experience. For once, emotional content has been the forefront of a story I've written and it's really gotten to me****—**I don't think I can look at a piece of writing again without thinking about the necessary emotions to push on my characters to make them as realistic as possible.  


**With that, here begins my long list of thanks:**

**To my reviewers: FalconTytus, rain0205, GKmader, Mylaervain, Seeker of the Skies, Tamaki, KeeepSmiling, Whistlewind Wolf, saphir, Yukage and my awesome LadyAlaska.  
To my supporters: every single one of you that's either favourited or alerted this story.  
**

**This story couldn't have been what it is without you all.**

**There _is_ a rough outline of a sequel planned for _Unwritten_, but for several reasons it won't be out for a good while yet: I have another fic to finish****—**_Revenant Wings_**—** and there are some other ideas I'd like to explore for my own FFXIII-3 before I'll be able to get around to the sequel to this one. (And also to note that the sequel planned is going to mainly Hoperai... I'm sorry, I'm a Hoperai shipper and things just happen that way. Not that Snow and Serah won't be in it, but... I think you get the idea)  


**So with that, I will catch you guys all later, whether you guys are following _RW_, or whether you guys are gonna stick around and wait for the months it'll take me to put up a sequel.  
**

**Hearts!  
**


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